Mini Law Lesson

FTC Sends Warning Letters to 60+ Advertisers re

Print and TV DisclosuresBrian Heidelberger

bheidelb@winston.comTwitter @briheidelberger

Info @ www.winston.com/bheidelberger

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

• I am not your attorney.

• This is not legal advice.

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What Happened

• FTC sent warning letters 60+ companies

including 20 of the nation’s 100 largest advertisers

• Failed to make adequate disclosures in their television and print ads

• FTC will now be monitoring these advertisers, as well as industry, for compliance

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Operation Full Disclosure

• Fine print disclosures, easy to miss or hard to read

yet contained material information

• Letters tailored to specific ads

• Recommended review ads ensure that material terms are “clear and conspicuous”

• Asked for notice of corrective action

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BusyBody Details

• There is no list of companies

• The letters sent were tailored and aren’t public

• There aren’t public examples

• English and Spanish-language advertising for many different types of products

• Pricing, automatic billing, superiority and comparative claims, exclusions, typical results, demonstrations, contradictory disclosures

• If you didn’t get a letter you aren’t necessarily ok!

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So What Should We Do?

• A disclosure is clear and conspicuous if consumers notice it, read it, and understand it.

• Proximity and Placement: close to the claims in a place where people will read it

• Prominent:

font that is easy to read and in a shade that stands out

• No set font

on the screen long enough to be noticed, read, and understood

• Presentation: not legalese and not block text

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More Information

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