Following the Supreme Court's 2021 decision striking down the FTC's practice of using FTC Act Section 13(b) to obtain monetary redress in AMG Capital Mgmt., LLC v. FTC, 141 S. Ct. 1341 (2021), the FTC has been exploring...more
Negotiating exclusivity provisions in agency agreements can often be difficult. Companies want to broadly prevent agencies from working for competitors, while agencies are reluctant to cut off other sources of work. In most...more
If you want to advertise that something is the “best,” do you need substantiation? Or can you rely on a puffery argument? Although the answer depends on context, one paragraph in a recent NAD decision seems to conflict with...more
Last year, we wrote about a challenge that NAD had initiated against various green claims made by the American Beverage Association (or “ABA”). NAD found that several of ABA’s claims – including claims that “our bottles are...more
If a third-party writes a good review of your product – or, even better, rates it as one of the best – can you link to that review? A new NAD decisions suggests that the answer may not be as easy as people think....more
For $9.99 per month, Pier 1 offers Pier 1 Rewards, a loyalty program that includes benefits such as a 10% discount on all purchases and free shipping and returns on eligible items. Until recently, when a consumer added an...more
A recent post on the FTC’s Business Blog notes that although there may be disagreement about what “artificial intelligence” or “AI” is, those terms are being used in marketing campaigns, and the FTC worries that some...more
Last week, as severe weather hit the country, price gouging laws were triggered ranging as far as California to Kentucky. And as we’ve previously reported, complying with the varied state price gouging laws can be tricky,...more
Molson Coors ran a series of ads in which athletes celebrated the completion of a difficult workout by opening a can labeled “Extremely Light Beer” and pouring the liquid over their heads. An announcer says: “Light beer...more
If you tell your friends about your new year’s resolutions, odds are that most of those friends won’t push you for too much detail on how you plan to achieve your goals. But if those friends work at NAD, you might expect some...more
Fake reviews continue to be a hot topic in consumer protection. In 2022, we reported that six states and the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Roomster – a platform through which people can find rooms and...more
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...more
Instant Brands advertises that its Pyrex glass products are “Proudly Made in USA” and as “American as Apple Pie.” For many years, it appears that Instant Brands’ claims complied with the requirements set forth in FTC’s Made...more
Consumers increasingly want to feel good about their buying decisions and like-minded companies often look for ways to communicate how they align with consumers through “cause marketing” campaigns. One popular type of...more
The 2019 movie Yesterday is about a world without the Beatles. The 2022 lawsuit over Yesterday is about a movie without Ana de Armas. Two fans who each paid $3.99 to rent the movie based on seeing the actress in the trailer...more
Money-back guarantees can often be subject to detailed terms and conditions. When advertising those guarantees, clients often ask us how much has to be disclosed in an ad itself, versus how much can be disclosed on a landing...more
Green marketing is very much in vogue, and so is suing companies over their green marketing. If you want to avoid those suits, you should generally start by looking at the FTC’s Green Guides. But a lot has changed since the...more
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,...more
Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty is an online subscription service that sells women’s lingerie. Like many other subscription services, they have faced scrutiny over how they advertise automatic renewals. In February 2020, Tina.org...more
Programs that automatically renew have been under a lot of scrutiny lately. Although the focus of scrutiny has often been on how people sign up, both regulators and plaintiffs’ attorneys have also been paying attention to how...more
In recent months, companies have scored some notable victories in lawsuits involving various types of green claims, including carbon emission claims, aspirational claims, and recyclability claims. As we noted in some of those...more
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....more
Time is money, and when you’re hungry for mac-and-cheese, a few seconds can be worth millions of dollars. Or at least that’s what a Florida woman suggests in her class action lawsuit against Kraft Heinz over a claim on...more
Imagine that Megan Thee Stallion told you that by investing as little as $1 in Bitcoin, with her knowledge and your hustle, “you’ll have your own empire in no time.” Would you think that $1 is all you need to amass a fortune?...more
This month, the DC Superior Court dismissed a lawsuit brought by Earth Island Institute against Coca-Cola, alleging that the company falsely represents itself as “a sustainable and environmentally friendly company, despite...more