Welcome to The Ad Watchers! Join National Advertising Division attorneys on this podcast as they explore advertising claims and what it means to put them to the truthfulness test.
In this episode of Ad Watchers, hosts Dan and Annie take you behind the scenes of the U.S. system of self-regulation in the advertising industry and discuss some of the myths, the misconceptions, and misunderstandings advertisers have.
This episode presents the Top Ten things the National Advertising Division (NAD) wants to make sure you know about ad law and the NAD process, valuable for new and seasoned practitioners with the goal to make the self-regulatory forum user friendly, fair, and efficient and effective.
For more information about this episode, read the show notes here.
In 1974, NAD’s sister program, the Children’s Advertising Review Unit, or CARU, was established to monitor an area of national advertising not covered by NAD: the unique children’s marketplace. CARU’s role? To protect children under 13 from advertising that is misleading, inappropriate, or inconsistent with laws and guidelines.
In this episode of Ad Watchers, hosts Dan and Annie talk with Rukiya Bonner, the new Director of CARU, to discuss the nuances of monitoring this evolving marketplace.
For more information about this episode, read the show notes here.
Number one claims communicate powerful messages of comparative superiority over competitors and can be very effective in advertising a product or service, but powerful claims require careful use and strong support. So what does it take to be able to support a #1 claim?
In this episode of Ad Watchers, hosts Dan and Annie discuss the complexity behind supporting #1 claims in advertising, review relevant National Advertising Division cases, and provide valuable insight to advertisers regarding the type and degree of information required to support such claims.
For more information about this episode, read the show notes here.
Consumers want to make responsible purchases when they can and, when it comes to helping the environment, that means selecting products that claim to do just that. But can advertisers back up what they claim? And what do advertisers need to think about to do so? Once again the Ad Watchers team tackles green marketing and environmental benefit claims, this time on the heels of the comment window for an update to the Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides.
In this episode of Ad Watchers, hosts Dan and Annie are joined by an Ad Watchers veteran, La Toya Sutton, now with The Clorox Company, ahead of Earth Day to discuss what’s new in green claims and the in-house perspective on addressing brand claims before they hit the shelves.
For more information about this episode, read the show notes here.
Now more than ever consumers are paying attention to their health and wellness. Research indicates that consumers see health and wellness as ‘essential-spend categories.’ Not surprisingly, many brands see this as an opportunity to advertise a new product or service that will help a consumer achieve better health. But consumers aren’t the only ones paying attention. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is paying attention to the health-related claims brands are making, including the substantiation the advertiser has to back up those health claims.
In this episode of Ad Watchers, hosts Dan and Annie break down the FTC’s new Health Products Compliance Guidance, which outlines how to ensure that claims about benefits and safety of health-related products are truthful, not misleading, and supported by science.
For more information about this episode, read the show notes here.
