Last year, Prose – a company that makes customized haircare products – brought an NAD challenge against a competitor, Function, over Function’s claims that it had over 110,000 5-star product reviews. Shortly after that,...more
NAD recently announced a decision in a challenge that Charter brought against T-Mobile for its home internet service. The decision covers a lot of ground and is worth reading if you work in the telecom space. But for the...more
Last week, the New York Attorney General announced that Fareportal had agreed to pay $2.6 million to end an investigation over its use of “dark patterns” to manipulate consumers into booking flights and hotel accommodations....more
Most NAD challenges are initiated by competitors, but NAD can also initiate its own inquiries as part of its mission to independently monitor national ads for truthfulness and accuracy. Over the past few months, NAD has...more
In recent years, more companies have been willing to take public positions on social issues and to promote certain causes. Different types of promotions raise different legal issues. For example, if a company advertises that...more
Ad revenue from podcasts in the US continues to grow at a staggering rate. When we last posted about this topic in 2018, IAB had reported that ad revenues had increased 275% over two years to just over $257 million and that...more
The makers of Bravecto ran a TV ad comparing Bravecto and NexGard – both flea and tick prevention products – and starring one of the actors from Best in Show. The makers of NexGard challenged the ad before the NAD and the...more
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...more
In a post last week, we looked at NAD’s review of Everlane’s green claims relating to the company’s use of recycled plastic in its products and its aspirational goals to remove virgin plastic from its entire supply chain by...more
As advertisers wait to see what the FTC will do after sending 700 warning letters related to influencers and incentivized reviews, the NAD has been resolving disputes on similar issues. Yesterday, NAD announced a new decision...more
As fashion companies begin to make more claims about what they are doing to help the environment, they need to make sure they’re in good position to support those claims with strong evidence. We previously posted about a...more
Last week, we posted about an NAD case involving green claims that Georgia-Pacific made for its Quilted Northern Ultra Soft & Strong Bathroom Tissue. In that post, we examined issues related to how a company substantiates...more
As more companies develop Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) goals and advertise their progress towards those goals, we’re starting to see more challenges to those ads. Most of the challenges come from plaintiffs’...more
This summer, a plaintiff filed a class action lawsuit against Allbirds, alleging (among other things) that the company’s environmental claims – including claims about its “sustainable” practices, the “low carbon footprint” of...more
In February, we posted that the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (or “CARU”) was in the process of updating its Guidelines for ads directed to children. The Guidelines had last been updated in 2006, and advertisers often...more
Earlier this year, Prose – a company that makes customized haircare products – brought an NAD challenge against Function – a competitor in the same business – over Function’s claims that it had over 110,000 5-star product...more
Last week, NAD announced a decision involving a series of AT&T Fiber ads that holds important lessons for companies that make comparative performance claims.
Each of the ads depicts a funny scene in which a cable user is...more
When it comes to the legal side of working with influencers, smart companies focus on ensuring that influencers clearly disclose that they are working with the company. After all, that’s where regulators have focused most of...more
Function claimed that it had “over 110,000 5-star product reviews” for its hair care products, the majority of which come from its “shampoo and conditioner” category. A competitor filed an NAD challenge pointing out that the...more
As part of its routine monitoring program, NAD asked ACT to provide substantiation for statements the company made online about its standardized college entrance test. NAD was concerned about whether ACT sufficiently...more
The American Association of Orthodontists ran a series of social media ads for Happy Mouth Now, a fictional teledentistry company, which showed consumers struggling with the company’s products. The ads are funny, unless you...more
This week, NAD released five tips on influencer marketing. Here are the tips, followed by some of our own observations.
1. When working with influencers or incentivizing consumers to review your product, you may be...more
The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (or “CARU”) has guidelines that apply to ads directed to children who are under 12 years old. A lot has changed since the guidelines were last updated in 2006, and CARU recently...more
In the days leading up to the Super Bowl, Penn State Football tweeted a graphic claiming that “a Penn Stater has appeared in every Super Bowl.” Below that bold claim, in much smaller letters, appeared an important qualifier:...more
Comcast recently challenged a number of claims that AT&T made about its Wi-Fi services in two blog posts on the AT&T website. The posts claimed that the company provided the “best possible Wi-Fi experience,” the “best...more