The internet is buzzing with the pros and cons of FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, 16 CFR Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. You can read the full text by downloading the PDF .
The revised guides are effective December 1, 2009 – Merry Christmas from the U.S. Government.
While many have focused on the impact on bloggers who do product reviews, the guides cover television, hidden camera endorsements, expert endorsements and much more.
A few things that caught my eye:
“Results not typical” statements are no longer acceptable. The FTC tested the statements and found that the disclaimer was ineffective. You should report the general results not the outliers.
You can be liable for making false statements, even if you’re reading a script.
We may never see another celebrity endorser. Lesser known working actors can rejoice, because there may be a few more roles for you to play. Celebrity endorsers must disclose a paid relationship whether they are talking about a product on a talk show, on their personal blog or website or in a company sponsored ad.
Advertisers and bloggers are held responsible for misleading statements. Advertisers must train and monitor bloggers doing reviews. Note the text below that follows one of the many detailed examples (Example 5) in the guide:
“In order to limit its potential liability, the advertiser should ensure that the advertising service provides guidance and training to its bloggers concerning the need to ensure that statements they make are truthful and substantiated. The advertiser should also monitor bloggers who are being paid to promote its products and take steps necessary to halt the continued publication of deceptive representations when they are discovered.”
Experts must exercise their expertise in comparing products and offering testimonials. Many information marketers use testimonials and endorsements from “experts” in their product advertisements. This too is being held to a new standard:
“…the expert must have concluded that, with respect to those features on which he or she is expert and which are relevant and available to an ordinary consumer, the endorsed product is at least equal overall to the competitors’ products. Moreover, where the net impression created by the endorsement is that the advertised product is superior to other products with respect to any such feature or features, then the expert must in fact have found such superiority.”
The FTC uses very specific examples to point out acceptable actions and those that will be called into question. If Tiger Woods endorses a golf club, he is held to a different standard because he is a well known celebrity who is associated with golf. A spokesperson doing the same endorsement not associated with golf is held to different standards.
Before reading the guides, I believed the issue to be as simple as disclosing financial relationships. After reading them, it will impact my actions going forward in providing testimonials and endorsements.
Have you read the guidelines? If so, do you have any concerns or is this a good thing?
By the way, I was not paid to write this post!
Related articles:
- FTC to Fine Bloggers up to $11,000 for Not Disclosing Payments (mashable.com)
- FTC: Bloggers, celebrities beware! (money.cnn.com)
- FTC to bloggers: Fess up or pay up (news.cnet.com)
- Potential FTC Fines Raise Big Blogging Questions (webpronews.com)
Wolf75 says
Now for the unpleasant part. ,
Karen Swim says
Hi Dave, I was not ignoring you, I promise, just totally buried of late! I agree with you that for those new to the world of online marketing and endorsements, it will be easy to adopt. I also agree that it may be a non-issue for bloggers but I do think we’ll see big changes with celebrity endorsements. Thanks for subscribing Dave, I appreciate you!
Polprav says
Hello from Russia!
Can I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?
Dave Doolin says
My take on it is that it’s going to be a good thing for people new to the field. They (we) won’t have to unlearn any bad habits! We learn the “new” rules as the only rules we’ve ever used.
In the end, I think it’s going be a non-issue, once the first round of enforcement settles out.
New subscriber… I like it.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..WordPress Gotcha! Find Out If Your RSS Feed is Helping or Hurting =-.
Karen Swim says
Andrew, happy to share my friend! My worry is that many will miss it because we’re not being paid to influence and are making ethical choices in our work, however for anyone doing business (even casually) on line, I think these guidelines are important to know.
Karen Swim says
*sigh* Kevin, I have had a week of technical glitches and am convinced that the tech monsters are determined to eat me alive. I looked at the Apture linking and can see no way to change a setting from print/view to download, so, I have the file and am happy to send it to you. You can also download directly from the WebPro News article linked in the resources. Thanks so much for letting me know Kevin, you rock!
Andrew says
Karen,
Thank you for highlighting this. I was not previously aware of this issue, but I will certainly be interested to have a look at these guidelines as it looks as though they may raise some interesting issues.
Based on your description, the requirements above do seem to make sense, so long as they do not cause undue burden advertisers and those who endorse products or merchandise. But I’ll have to look at them further if I get the chance before I make any form of properly informed comment.
.-= Andrew´s last blog ..BAE’s corruption allegations – make them face up to it this time =-.
Kevin E Blake says
Hey Karen,
Don’t know if it was just me or not, but ScribD wouldn’t let me download the pdf. Only print or read online.
Here is the link to the pdf from the FTC site:
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005endorsementguidesfnnotice.pdf
.-= Kevin E Blake´s last blog ..Reading out of character =-.
Karen Swim says
Annie, this is definitely going to impact the weight loss industry. If you endorse something and say it’s “heart healthy” you can be held liable for that claim.
Everyone – I am trying to secure an interview with an attorney to shed more light on this issue, as I do feel it’s important we are armed with information. I’ll keep you posted!
.-= Karen Swim´s last blog ..FTC Guidelines on Endorsements and Testimonials =-.
Karen Swim says
Fred, while the intent may have been to protect consumers from being duped, the practical applications are far reaching. For anyone doing business on line, my advice is to read the document. While I don’t really believe the FTC is going to go after everyone, I think it’s best to operate on the right side of the guidelines. If you receive something free, a sample, a book and write about it you should disclose your relationship.
.-= Karen Swim´s last blog ..FTC Guidelines on Endorsements and Testimonials =-.
Karen Swim says
Lillie, you are right. I am advising everyone to read the guidelines and pay attention to the detailed examples.
.-= Karen Swim´s last blog ..FTC Guidelines on Endorsements and Testimonials =-.
Annie says
I will be giving this much thought. I belong to a free weight loss website and part of the program is to join a forum where products are compared and reviewed. It never occurred to me if someone was getting paid or not. I just assumed it was an opinion. So if that assumption is true, what will happen to this part of the program? Because thus far, I have learned a lot about the different products that label themselves ‘lowfat’, ‘healthy’ or ‘heart smart.’ Does this mean the FTC, in training bloggers, will not allow differing opinions? And if it is an opinion what standards are going to be used to judge if is truthful or not? And with the amount of bloggers, how effective is the FTC going to be in making sure all their guidelines are carried out? Certainly something to watch as it develops.
.-= Annie´s last blog ..Veggies to Go! =-.
Fred H Schlegel says
I have to think that the requirement that advertisers provide ‘training and guidance’ to folks writing about their products has got to be aimed at the ‘pay to post’ scams going on rather than anything that resembles an honest review process. That actually does make sense to fall under the same type of regulatory scheme that advertising has dealt with for a while, for it is really not any kind of independent speech at all. Unfortunately, if the FTC over-reacts it could have a very chilling effect on the free speech component of the internet which would be unfortunate.
.-= Fred H Schlegel´s last blog ..When Trails Of Science and Art Cross =-.
Lillie Ammann says
The word on all the author lists is that reviewers will have to disclose if they receive a review copy of the book. because that is considered compensation from the author or publisher. Some of the groups are advocating that authors put a blanket disclaimer on their site that they have given copies of their books to reviewers but have provided no other compensation for reviews.
.-= Lillie Ammann´s last blog ..What I Learned from Limits =-.