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Endorsements From Regular People Are Powerful, but Mind the FTC's Guidelines 8 May, 2012
A recent AdWeek article highlighted a significant decline in the use of celebrity endorsers in television commercials. The article cited a report by brand research agency Millward Brown that found the use of celebrity endorsers has declined by half during the past eight years. Although it is not...More>>
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Bayer Suffers From Class Certification Headache 8 May, 2012
In designing their marketing campaigns, many marketers strive to create a simple, pithy, unifying claim or message in their advertising to catch the attention of their target audience - and then seek to reinforce that claim or message on their packaging. While that makes perfect sense from a...More>>
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FTC Scores Big Court Win Against DRTV Veterans 8 May, 2012
In a much-awaited decision, a federal judge has granted summary judgment in favor of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against DRTV veterans Gary Hewitt and Doug Gravink and their company, Family Products LLC, in the case FTC v. John Beck Amazing Profits et al. Hewitt and Gravink sold "John...More>>
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FDA Regulation of 'Cosmeceuticals': More Wrinkles Coming? 8 May, 2012
Compared to other popular direct response product categories, such as dietary supplements, over-the-counter drugs (e.g., anti-acne creams) and medical devices (e.g., wrinkle and acne reducing lights), cosmetics are subject to far less Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation. Unlike those...More>>
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Facebook Accused of Misappropriating Users' Identities for Web Ads 3 Apr, 2012
Facebook users have filed a class action lawsuit – Angel Fraley v. Facebook Inc. – in the U.S. District Court of Northern California – alleging that the popular social media website unlawfully misappropriated its users' names, photographs, likenesses and identities for use in paid...More>>
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Does the New FTC 'Biz-Op' Rule Cover Internet 'Make-Money' Schemes? 3 Apr, 2012
Most antiquities remain forever relics of the past, irrelevant to the present except as objects of interest and amusement. Such had seemed to be the case with the FTC's dusty old Business Opportunity ("Biz-Op") Rule, but no more. Once confined to the realm of vending machine businesses and the...More>>
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Court Awards Record $30M Judgment in Latest FTC Robocall Case 3 Apr, 2012
Violations of the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) remain a high enforcement priority, and a recent federal court order stands as a stark reminder that such violations can result in civil penalties of monumental proportions.More>>
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Court Denies Class Action in Continuity Product Case 3 Apr, 2012
In the never-ending war between marketers and class actions lawyers, it is always nice to hear about a victory for a marketer. On March 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled in favor of Synapse Group Inc. and against the class action plaintiffs, by affirming a lower court’s...More>>
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FTC Orders Super-Policing of Affiliates 6 Mar, 2012
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continues to define the scope of online affiliate monitoring obligations. Last year, in Legacy Learning Systems, the FTC ordered a merchant, that was paying affiliates to post favorable product reviews without disclosure of the financial tie, to: monitor and...More>>
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FTC Loses Contempt Action Against Garden of Life 6 Mar, 2012
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) suffered a striking loss in its efforts to hold Garden of Life, the marketer of various dietary supplements, in contempt of a previous consent order entered into by the company with the FTC in 2006.More>>
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