December FTC Guidelines: Are You Compliant?

Marketers, beware! As of December 1^st, revised Federal Trade Commission guidelines are in effect. The FTC Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising include the first changes made since 1980.

Under the new Guides, advertisers may no longer use the phrase “results not typical” in their campaigns. Instead, advertisements must disclose the results that consumers may typically experience.

Paid or gifted endorsements must also be disclosed in advertisements, and this extends to bloggers and ‘word-of-mouth’ marketers as well. This means that bloggers may no longer accept payment or free products in return for promotion without disclosing that fact. If your company is providing material or monetary compensation in exchange for promotion by bloggers or celebrities, this exchange must be communicated to the consumer.

Furthermore, if compensation is provided to a research organization which is cited in an advertisement, this fact must be made public within the advertisement as well.

Interestingly, the FTC Guide now holds endorsers more accountable for their statements. As of December 1^st, endorsers and advertisers may both be held liable for false, unsubstantiated or misleading product statements.

While the FTC Guides are not officially binding laws, they are part of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which is included in federal legislation. For more information, visit:

http://www.ftc.gov/multimedia/video/business/endorsement-guides.shtm.