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Advertising in Iceland

Advertising in Iceland? Your ads must be in Icelandic

Icelandic law requires ads aimed at Icelandic consumers to be in Icelandic. Here is what that means for foreign brands, and how to get ad copy that reads like a local wrote it.

The rule

Act No. 57/2005 on unfair commercial practices says: “Advertisements intended to appeal to Icelandic consumers shall be in the Icelandic language” (English text on WIPO Lex). The Consumer Agency (Neytendastofa) oversees the Act. Enforcement has been light, but in 2025 the Icelandic Language Council proposed strengthening the rule and working with the agency to monitor it (Iceland Monitor). This page is not legal advice.

Why a literal translation backfires

Icelanders all read English, and they spot an ad that was translated from it at once. The tell is not wrong words but English turns of phrase in Icelandic words. A few that machine translation produces every day:

Literal translationWhat an Icelander writes
ná út til (reach out)hafa samband
taka á næsta stig (take to the next level)efla, bæta, ná lengra
ekki hika við að (don't hesitate to)endilega
mæta þörfum þínum (meet your needs)koma til móts við þarfir þínar

Ads written in Icelandic

Your EnglishAltalandi
Don't miss out on our biggest sale of the year. Shop now and save up to 40% on everything you love.Láttu stærstu útsölu ársins ekki fram hjá þér fara. Verslaðu núna og fáðu allt að 40% afslátt af öllum þínum uppáhaldsvörum.
Book your table today and enjoy a taste of the season. Fresh local ingredients, cooked with care.Pantaðu borð í dag og njóttu bragðs árstíðarinnar. Ferskt hráefni úr héraði, matreitt af alúð.

A checklist for Icelandic ad copy

  • Prices in krónur, written the Icelandic way: 1.990 kr. (a full stop between thousands).
  • Dates as 12. október, with no capital on the month.
  • Decimals with a comma: 4,5%.
  • Quotation marks „like this“, low then high.
  • Address readers as “þú”. The formal “þér” reads as old-fashioned in ads.
  • No added promises. A translation must not say more than your English: no extra “best” or “free”.

Altalandi does all of this by default and lists every change it makes.

Questions

Does the rule apply to my online ads?
The Act covers advertising intended to appeal to Icelandic consumers, whatever the channel. How it applies to your campaign is a question for a lawyer; this page is not legal advice.
Can I keep my slogan in English?
Brand names usually stay as they are. Whether a slogan may stay in English is a question for a lawyer; the rest of the ad should be in Icelandic.
How fast can I get my ads in Icelandic?
A paragraph takes about ten seconds on altalandi.is. For a whole campaign, email your copy to hallo@altalandi.is and we send it back in Icelandic with every change listed.

Get your ads in native Icelandic

Paste your English on the front page, use Altalandi from ChatGPT, Claude or your own tools, or email us the whole campaign.

See how it works
Advertising in Iceland: ads must be in Icelandic – Altalandi