FTC seeking comment on the use of testimonials in marketing

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FTC sets out rules for testimonials in marketing

By Lorraine Heller, 01-Dec-2008

Related topics: Health claims

<http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/On-your-radar/Health-claims> ,

Regulation <http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Regulation>

Food and supplement manufacturers have two months to comment on new

guides issued by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on product

endorsements and testimonials.

The commission, which has released a revised version of its guides, said

comments must be received by January 30 2009.

The Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements

<http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/content/search?SearchText=endorseme

nts> and Testimonials

<http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/content/search?SearchText=testimoni

als> in Advertising are designed to help product marketers voluntarily

comply with legal advertising requirements. They outline the general

principals the agency will use in evaluating endorsements and

testimonials, and provide examples that illustrate the application of

these principals.

FTC works together with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in

regulating the marketing of food and dietary supplement. Although there

is some overlap, FDA tends to regulate the use of health claims on

product labels, while FTC

<http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/content/search?SearchText=FTC>

handles claims made in product advertising.

Use of testimonials

Testimonials or endorsements are a marketing measure used frequently in

the US, particularly for dietary supplement products.

FTC defines testimonials and endorsements broadly as meaning any

advertising message that consumers are likely to believe reflects the

opinions, beliefs, findings, or experience of a party other than the

advertiser.

In the past, the use of testimonials has been a particularly sensitive

issue, as they have often constituted statements that could not be

backed up by adequate substantiation, and would therefore mislead

consumers.

Revised Guides

The current revised document follow the publication in January 2007 of a

Federal Register notice that sought initial comments on the costs,

benefits, regulatory and economic impact of FTC's guides (72 Fed.

Reg.2214, Jan.18, 2007).

Further to the 22 comments received, FTC has made some modifications to

the guides, and is now calling for additional comment.

One of the main issues raised is the use of consumer endorsements; the

proposed revisions state that testimonials that do not describe typical

consumer experiences should be accompanied by " clear and conspicuous

disclosure " of the results consumers can generally expect to achieve

from the advertised product or program.

Other issues addressed in the proposed revisions include expert

endorsements, endorsement by organizations, and disclosure of material

connections between advertisers and endorsers.

Past actions

In recent years, FTC has brought a number of enforcement actions against

marketers for deceptive advertising containing consumer endorsements.

Many of these endorsements have been accompanied by statements that

claim to inform consumers that the experiences of the featured endorsers

are not representative of what consumers can expect.

However, FTC has noted that the disclosures are often buried in fine

print footnotes or flashed as video superscripts too quickly for

consumers to read them.

" Not only are the disclosures far from clear and conspicuous, but

usually they merely say 'results not typical' or 'results may vary' or

similar statements that do little to inform consumers how rare or

extreme the featured results are, " write FTC in its guides.

To access the full text of the Federal Register notice, click here

<http://www.ftc.gov/os/2008/11/P034520endorsementguides.pdf> .

http://www.ftc.gov/os/2008/11/P034520endorsementguides.pdf

S. Kalman PhD, RD, CCRC, FACN

Miami Research Associates

Director, Nutrition & Applied Clinical Research

6141 Sunset Drive #301

Miami, FL. 33143

(fax)

www.miamiresearch.com <http://www.miamiresearch.com>