Comparative advertising can be an effective marketing tool to tout product benefits vs. competitors, but consumers shouldn’t need to read confusing fine print disclaimers and whip out their calculators to understand the ad...more
If you were shopping for snack crackers and saw Cheez-It packages that looked like the ones shown here, how much whole grain content would you think the crackers contain – a little, a lot, all of it?
The Second Circuit...more
We are back from the 2018 National Advertising Division Annual Conference: The Truth About Advertising Law – Recent Developments and Best Practices that took place over two days in downtown New York. We heard from the NAD...more
9/26/2018
/ Advertising ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Claims ,
Market Research ,
Marketing ,
NAD ,
Online Advertisements ,
Online Reviews ,
Social Networks ,
Technical Conference
A recent NAD decision about salad spinners illustrates several principles generally applicable to product testing used to substantiate superiority claims: (1) the test conditions need to be relevant to how the product...more
We blogged last week about a recent National Advertising Division case involving a Kimberly-Clark ad campaign that illustrated the well-known NAD maxim: “an advertiser is responsible for all reasonable interpretations of its...more
Deceptive “Made in USA” advertising and labeling claims have received a lot of attention from the FTC in recent years, reflecting the agency’s recognition that USA-origin claims are a persuasive selling point and should not...more
Last week the FTC published a Complaint and proposed Consent Order in In re Bollman Hat Company et al. addressing two hot topics: Made in USA ad claims, which have been an agency focus for decades, and “selfie” and...more
We have previously blogged about claims brought by Lions Gate Entertainment against a TD Ameritrade ad campaign featuring the tagline “Nobody puts your old 401K in a corner.” This was an obvious and humorous allusion to the...more
For many years, consumers have relied on certification marks like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval and the UL logo as an assurance of product quality. Administered by independent organizations, consumers reasonably...more
Well-known perfume marketer Coty Inc. had a big win in New York federal district court, obtaining injunctive relief and $6.5 million dollars in an accounting of profits from copycat perfume seller Excell Brands, LLC. In an...more
9/29/2017
/ Advertising ,
Brand ,
Dilution ,
Fair Use ,
False Advertising ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Nominative Fair Use Doctrine ,
Trade Dress ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks
As we blogged about earlier this month, the FTC seems to have spent much of its summer checking out influencer advertising and focusing its attention on those who fail to make the necessary disclosures of material connections...more
We blogged last week about the FTC’s triple play against deceptive influencer advertising. In one prong of the initiative, the FTC announced that its staff had sent 21 follow-up warning letters to influencers, asking them to...more
Last week, the FTC announced a Complaint and proposed settlement with two trampoline sellers, brothers Sonny and Bobby Le. The Les sold Infinity and Olympus Pro brand trampolines through three websites that touted...more
Comparative advertising can be highly effective in touting the advantages of a company’s products against those of its competitor, but the language used must be carefully crafted and accompanying visual depictions should be...more
In previous posts, we’ve discussed the Federal Trade Commission’s significant enforcement efforts focused on two hot button issues: unsubstantiated health marketing claims and deceptive product endorsements. Once again, both...more
Last week we blogged about a recent decision of the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau, holding that two YouTube videos for Rayovac brand batteries misleadingly communicated an unsupported “line”...more
Two recent decisions of the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau provide helpful insights into how product performance comparisons should (and should not) be crafted to be considered fair comparative...more
Medical endorsements can be powerful selling tools for health care products. But if a medical professional has a connection to the company marketing the products that would be material to consumers in evaluating the...more
An advertising slogan like “A Diamond is Forever” may be eternal, but the same cannot be said about some comparative advertising claims. If a company advertises its product as superior to a competitive product, the ad claim...more
In recent years, companies have increasingly relied on social media platforms to promote their products, often featuring testimonials and endorsements from consumers and public figures as well as other user-generated content....more
6/3/2015
/ Advertising ,
Contests & Promotions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Endorsements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Marketing ,
Social Media ,
Sweepstakes ,
Testimonial Statements
Positive results of scientific research on a company’s products can provide a tempting topic for advertising and promotion. If an article published in a well-established, peer-reviewed journal says that your company’s...more
Enforcement efforts by the Federal Trade Commission in the area of false advertising have long emphasized the importance of disclosing material facts relevant to advertising claims to ensure that messages communicated to the...more
12/9/2014
/ Advertising ,
Consent Order ,
Disclosure ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Media ,
Popular ,
Printed Publications ,
Social Media ,
Sony ,
Television Commercials ,
Twitter
On June 12, 2014, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in POM Wonderful LLC v. Coca-Cola Co., No. 12-761, which confirms that federal false advertising claims can be brought against false or misleading...more
6/17/2014
/ Advertising ,
Coca Cola ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Labeling ,
Lanham Act ,
NLEA ,
POM Wonderful ,
POM Wonderful v Coca Cola ,
Popular ,
SCOTUS