As part of its routine monitoring, the NAD requested substantiation for various statements that a BuzzFeed staff member had made about a moisturizer in one of the site’s shopping guides. The NAD’s decision in the case sheds some much-needed light on various issues related to affiliate marketing. BuzzFeed explained that the shopping guides include product … Continue Reading
Pop quiz: If you purchased a bottle of “One A Day” gummy vitamins, would you: (a) assume that you should take one a day; or (b) check the back of the label to figure out how many you should take? If you answered (a), and didn’t check the back of the label, you might have … Continue Reading
Advertisers who lose a challenge at the NAD automatically have the right to appeal the decision to the National Advertising Review Board (or “NARB”). Challengers who lose may also request an appeal, but the appeal is not automatic – it must be approved by the NARB Chair. Although appeals from NAD decisions are relatively rare … Continue Reading
Advertisers who want to tout the comparative advantages of their products have a number of options for framing those comparisons. For example, they can compare their products to specific products, they can compare their products to defined categories of products, or they can more vaguely compare their products to “regular,” “ordinary,” or “other” products. Although … Continue Reading
Last week, a California court granted a temporary restraining order against Triangle Media, a company that sells various types of products using “risk free” trials. According to the FTC, though, the trials were very risky, involved hidden charges, and violated various laws. When consumers clicked on ads for Triangle’s products, they landed on websites promoting … Continue Reading
The Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland – similar to the NAD in the US – recently issued a decision regarding a social media influencer that companies on this side of the Atlantic should note. The case involves social media posts by Rosie Connolly, a fashion, beauty, and lifestyle blogger. Connolly posted pictures with flawless makeup, … Continue Reading
Although we normally try to stay away from celebrity gossip, we can’t ignore the latest controversy over Kanye West’s tweet. No, not that one – the other one. In 2016, Kanye announced that he would release his album, The Life of Pablo, exclusively on Tidal. He tweeted: “My album will never never never be on … Continue Reading
Yesterday, we posted an interview with Laura Brett, the Director of the NAD, in which Brett discussed various issues, including how the NAD is evolving, how Brett sees herself as different from her predecessor, and how the NAD decides cases. Today, we’ll take a brief look at one of those cases that involves a perennial topic … Continue Reading
The NAD recently analyzed whether Petmate had adequate substantiation to support claims that certain cat litter pans had “built-in antimicrobial protection” and that they could “inhibit bacteria growth.” Although the decision is most directly relevant to companies that make antimicrobial claims, it also contains information that’s relevant to any company that uses tests to substantiate … Continue Reading
The NAD recently announced a decision in which it analyzed whether consumers would interpret claims in two commercials about Perdue’s happy chickens and organic practices to apply to all of the company’s chickens or only some of them. Even if you aren’t trying to measure the satisfaction of your own poultry, the decision includes some … Continue Reading
Last week, Carl’s Jr. announced that in honor of Steven Spielberg’s new movie, Ready Player One, they would change the name of their Charbroiled Sliders to “SpielBurgers.” They tweeted: “@StevenSpielberg hasn’t signed off yet, but we’re pretty sure he’ll be down with it.” In fact, Spielberg was not down with it. He posted a video … Continue Reading
The Wall Street Journal recently published an article discussing a growing practice among retailers who use third-party services to identify fraudulent returns. These services will inform retailers when they think a return is fraudulent, and some retailers will reject returns based on this information, notwithstanding what is in their return policies. The article presents an … Continue Reading
The Grim Reaper, a mummy, a mad scientist, and a werewolf are riding together on a train after work. No, that’s not the start of a joke, but it is the start of a funny commercial for Spectrum TV. The four characters talk about their weekend plans, as a light rain pelts the train’s windows. … Continue Reading
As consumers get ready to watch the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, some companies are getting ready to capitalize on the public enthusiasm. Many marketers want to incorporate Olympics-related themes – ranging from overt mentions of the Olympics to more subtle sports references – in their ads in order to associate their brands with the attention … Continue Reading
In the world of social media, a person’s power is often measured in terms of followers. More followers means the ability to influence more people. Companies who work with influencers understand this and often base compensation on this metric. For example, according to data collected by Captiv8, an influencer with a thousand followers might earn … Continue Reading
Last week, eHarmony agreed to pay up to $2.2 million to resolve allegations brought by four California counties and the city of Santa Monica over the company’s billing practices. That includes a payment of $1.2 million in penalties and up to $1 million in restitution to customers whose subscriptions were automatically renewed, but were denied … Continue Reading
Earlier this week, the FTC announced its first settlement involving internet-connected toys. The FTC alleged that the Kid Connect app used with some of VTech’s toys collected personal information from hundreds of thousands of children, and that the company failed to provide direct notice of its privacy practices to parents, or to obtain verifiable consent … Continue Reading
Seven years ago, we posted about a new law in California governing automatic renewals. The law generally requires that companies: (1) clearly disclose the material offer terms before a consumers subscribes; (2) obtain affirmative consent to the terms before the consumer is charged; (3) provide a confirmation to the consumer that includes the terms, a … Continue Reading
Last week, the FTC announced that an online lingerie company had agreed to return more than $1.3 million to customers who enrolled in a negative-option membership program offering discounts and other benefits. Under Adore Me’s VIP program, a member would be charged $39.95 per month, unless the member either purchased apparel or pressed a “skip” … Continue Reading
In June, we posted that Instagram users would start seeing a new “Paid partnership with” tag on certain posts. The company explained that this was part of a tool designed to “help creators more clearly communicate to their followers when they are working in partnership with a business.” (It also allows users to better track the performance of … Continue Reading
Over the past few months, we’ve witnessed a steady stream of sexual harassment scandals in Hollywood. Many companies are taking proactive approaches and cutting ties with the men who have been accused of wrongdoing. Our colleagues at Labor Days recently discussed that issue from an employment law perspective. But it’s also worth considering how this … Continue Reading
The “local” food movement is growing, as many consumers attempt to find fresher options, support local businesses, and reduce the environmental impact of shipping foods over longer distances. One problem, though, is that no one is quite sure what “local” means. As with the word “natural” – another word without a clear meaning – this … Continue Reading
This week, the California Attorney General announced a settlement involving allegations that Gatorade made misleading claims about the relative performance benefits of Gatorade and water in a mobile game that was targeted to teens. Players controlled a cartoon version of Olympic Gold Medalist Usain Bolt, and ran a race to recover gold coins stolen by pirates. … Continue Reading
Benefit Cosmetics advertised that its They’re Real Mascara was the “#1 best-selling Prestige Mascara in the U.S.” and the “#1 best-selling Prestige Mascara in the U.S. for 3 years.” A disclosure linked to the first claim explained that the claim was based on NPD data from July 2015-June 2016, and a disclosure linked to the … Continue Reading
