If a review site ranks your product as the top in a category, can you advertise that you’re “number 1” in that category? The answer may not be as simple as it seems, and two NAD cases – one from three years ago and one from last month – demonstrate why companies can’t simply rely
FTC Addresses Supplier Due-Diligence for Made In USA Claims
As we’ve noted in other posts, an FTC rule prohibits companies from stating or implying that a product is made in the USA unless: (1) the final assembly or processing of the product occurs in the USA; (2) all significant processing that goes into the product occurs in the USA; and (3) all or
When Monsters Cross a Line (Claim)
For centuries, monsters have been vilified in countless books and films. Although the bad reputation that monsters have earned is generally well-deserved – they do, after all, frequently hurt people, destroy things, and otherwise cross the line of what’s socially acceptable – it’s important to keep in mind that some monsters are actually a lot
FTC and Six States Take Action Against Fake Reviews and Claims
The FTC and six states just announced that they had filed a lawsuit against Roomster – a platform through which people can find rooms and roommates – along with its owners, alleging that they had “inundated the internet with tens of thousands of fake positive reviews to bolster their false claims that properties listed on
CARU and FTC Express Concerns about Advertising to Kids in the Metaverse
Earlier this year, CARU’s new Advertising Guidelines went into effect, including various updates that were designed to apply to digital advertising. This week, CARU issued a warning to put “advertisers, brands, influencers and endorsers, developers, and others on notice that CARU’s Advertising Guidelines apply to advertising in the metaverse” and that “CARU will strictly enforce
NAD Decision Holds Lessons for Developing Test Protocols
If you want to advertise that your product performs better than a competitor’s product, you’re likely going to have to run tests to substantiate that claim. In some cases, there may be industry standard tests that could help take the guess work out of designing a protocol. In absence of an industry standard test, though,
Court Holds that Website Accessibility Doesn’t Require 100% Compliance
If you’ve ever received a demand letter alleging that your company’s website isn’t accessible to the blind or visually-impaired, it’s likely that the claimant’s attorney attached a report outlining a number of accessibility errors on the website. That’s not surprising because most – if not all – major websites are likely to have some errors.
H&M Sued Over Sustainability Claims
Sustainability continues to be a hot topic in the fashion industry, both in ads and in lawsuits related to those ads. Last month, a plaintiff filed a proposed class action against H&M arguing that the company makes various false claims about the sustainability of its products. The lawsuit seems to be prompted by a June
Man Sues Bass Pro Over Lifetime Guarantee on Socks
As heat waves spread across the country, many men are looking for opportunities to go without socks. (To those men, I might suggest a good pair of no-show socks but, like with other grooming tips, that’s beyond the scope of this post.) The point is that, despite the heat, one Missouri man wants more
NAD Advises Better Disclosures for #1 Claim
Twilio advertises that its customer data platform is the “#1 CDP” and discloses that the claim is based on 2020 market share, as measured by the International Data Corporation. Adobe challenged the claim, arguing, in part, that the 2020 IDC Report doesn’t reflect the current landscape and, even if it did, that Twilio’s disclosures were