Mikayla Nogueira is a 24-year-old beauty influencer with over 14 million followers on TikTok. At last count, that’s more than the number of followers we have at Ad Law Access, so she must be doing something right. (Or perhaps we’re doing something wrong by neglecting our readers’ beauty needs, but that’s a topic for another
Influencers
Lawsuit Over Crypto Promotion Targets Celebrity Endorsements
Imagine a “vast scheme between a blockchain start-up company,” a “highly-connected Hollywood talent agent,” and a “front operation,” who all united “for the purpose of promoting and selling a suite of digital assets.” No, that’s not the plot of a Hollywood movie – at least not yet – but it is the plot of a…
FTC and States Settle with Google and iHeartMedia Over Misleading Endorsements
In January, we reported that the Texas Attorney General had filed a lawsuit against Google alleging that the company engaged iHeartMedia DJs to provide endorsements for its Pixel 4 phone, even though they had never used it. This week, the FTC and several state attorneys general announced settlements with Google and iHeartMedia over the same…
Breaking Up with Celebrities
We all know a person that can be unpredictable and erratic. It can be fun to hang out with that person occasionally, because you’ll likely have funny stories to share with your friends the next morning, but you probably wouldn’t want to be married to them, because those same stories are less funny when you…
SEC is the Latest Agency to Keep Up With the Kardashians
In these difficult financial times, some of us may turn to our financial advisors for advice. Others may turn to Kim Kardashian. If you fall into the latter category, you may have seen that last year, Ms. Kardashian posted a story on Instagram in which she shared what her “friends just told [her] about the…
Chelsea Handler Sues ThirdLove Over Endorsement Deal
Last week, Chelsea Handler filed a lawsuit against ThirdLove, alleging that the lingerie company failed to honor its contractual commitments to her and refused to compensate her for an advertising campaign it had hired her to spearhead.
According to the complaint, the parties negotiated and finalized a term sheet by December 21, 2021 for a…
What the FTC’s Proposed Changes to its Endorsement Guides Suggest about Influencer Marketing
Last month, my colleagues posted about the FTC’s proposed changes to the Endorsement Guides. This post takes a closer look at how those proposed changes could impact influencer campaigns by answering five questions that we frequently get from marketers.
What is an endorsement? The FTC provides new guidance on what constitutes an “endorsement.” In one…
FTC Proposes Changes to Endorsement Guides with Expanded Liability and More Onerous Disclosure Requirements
In addition to announcing a new COPPA policy statement and related “crackdown” on children’s privacy issues (discussed here) in its most recent open meeting, the FTC also proposed changes to the FTC’s Endorsement Guides. The changes would build on and expand previous guidance, including by expressly extending liability to endorsers, intermediaries, and platforms…
Texas AG Sues Google over Misleading Endorsements
When a company uses an influencer or other person to endorse the company’s products, it’s important that endorsement reflects the endorser’s honest opinions, beliefs, or experiences with the products. Of course, in order for that to happen, the endorser must have actually used the products. This week, the Texas Attorney General filed a lawsuit against…
Where to Find More Info on the FTC’s Top Rules for 2022
Last week, Jessica Rich wrote about the FTC’s rulemaking plans for 2022. Make sure you read that post for a detailed analysis of what the Commission is planning. As we looked at which of those topics have generated the most interest on Ad Law Access recently, we wanted to point you to…