Category: Deceptive Advertising Law

November 20, 2012

CFPB, FTC Announce Crackdown on Deceptive Mortgage Advertising

On November 19, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that they have launched a new coordinated effort to protect consumers, focusing on mortgage advertisements that they say are deceptive. The CFPB and the FTC worked together to review roughly 800 mortgage ads. These ads were produced by entities involved… Read More

October 18, 2012

It’s Not Easy Being Green: FTC’s Revised Green Guidelines May Adversely Affect the Little Guy

Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission released its revised Green Guidelines, providing parameters for advertising and marketing claims of supposedly eco-friendly products. The publication completes a two-year revision process that the FTC undertook, involving the updating of guidelines last visited in 1998. The Commission touted the new guidelines as helping marketers “avoid making misleading… Read More

October 11, 2012

POM Loses a Round in Its Advertising Dispute With FTC, But Battle Continues

POM Wonderful LLC recently received a setback in its longstanding dispute with the Federal Trade Commission. On Sept. 30, 2012, U.S. District Judge Richard Roberts in the District of Columbia dismissed the juice maker’s declaratory judgment action against the FTC. The judge’s ruling, though, does not put an end to the POM-FTC battle, which is… Read More

October 4, 2012

‘Results Will Vary,’ But FTC’s Cases Against Weight-Loss Companies Remain the Same

The Federal Trade Commission recently announced a settlement with Jason Pharmaceuticals regarding its use of consumer testimonials and health benefits claims. Any company that relies on testimonials in its advertising, even a company that like Jason Pharmaceuticals, sells products that often have beneficial health results, must become aware of this settlement. Jason Pharmaceuticals sells Medifast… Read More

September 24, 2012

‘Get-Rich-Quick’ Systems Penalized by FTC to Tune of $478 Million

As part of the Federal Trade Commission’s ongoing efforts to shut down scams that target financially vulnerable consumers, a U.S. district judge has issued a $478 million judgment at the request of the FTC against the marketers of three get-rich-quick systems that the agency says are used for deceiving consumers. The order is the largest… Read More

July 25, 2012

‘Your Baby Can Read,’ Targeted for Dubious Ads, Closes Its Doors

After nearly a decade of persuading hundreds of thousands of parents that their babies were geniuses, the popular company, Your Baby Can Read, is shutting its doors. Its demise is the result of an FTC investigation prompted by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood advocacy group, which challenged claims by the company that newborns have… Read More

June 6, 2012

FTC Takes New Look at Alcohol Industries, Focusing on Digital Media

The media world has changed radically since the last time that the Federal Trade Commission took a look at the marketing efforts of the nation’s major alcoholic beverage producers. So the FTC is taking a fresh look, emphasizing the recent explosive growth of social media in its continuing effort to determine whether the industry is… Read More

May 30, 2012

Report from Energized FTC Seminar on Online Advertising

On May 30, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission held a workshop at its conference center in Washington, D.C., entitled “Advertising and Privacy Disclosures in the Digital World.” This workshop was intended both to provide guidance to the public concerning the FTC’s advertising requirements and to solicit input from the public for updates to the FTC’s… Read More