Jeffrey D. Knowles

Beware E-mail Marketing Strategies That Deliver Trouble

You can’t turn on the TV these days without seeing ads promising help if you’ve maxed out your credit cards, or can’t afford to pay your taxes.

The day before the Federal Trade Commission’s David Vladeck addressed an early-February industry conference in New Orleans, rumor had it that the FTC’s top consumer-protection cop would announce a complaint or consent agreement involving testimonials or affiliate marketing.

Back in the 1950s, the level of violence in television shows was very low. In most of the TV westerns of that era — Gunsmoke, Wyatt Earp, Have Gun Will Travel and the like — episodes didn’t end with the good guy shooting the bad guy. Instead, they usually ended with the good guy firing a...more >>

In July, the various components of the Internet advertising ecosystem published self-regulatory principles for online behavioral advertising. The principles, once implemented, will provide consumers with transparency and choices with respect to the collection of information online for behavioral...more >>

Just about every retail business uses upsells to convince consumers to spend more money. Fast-food restaurants ask customers if they want to make it a combo. Toy stores ask customers if they need batteries. As a result, consumers spend more money than they otherwise would have spent if no one ever...more >>

The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Mirror Image Doctrine has gone the way of the Baltimore Colts. One morning in 1984, Colts fans learned to their shock that their beloved NFL team's equipment - lock, stock and horseshoe-insignia'd helmets - had been packed into a dozen Mayflower moving vans and...more >>

Lured by online free trial offers for skin creams, make-up, weight-loss supplements and other products, consumers have apparently been unable to answer one fundamental question: What's the catch? Federal and state regulators are coming to the rescue.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently published proposed revisions to its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (16 C.F.R., Part 255). While the notice proposes a number of changes to the current guides, the most significant is the deletion of the safe...more >>

A federal judge recently found Kevin Trudeau in contempt because Trudeau had misrepresented the contents of his book, The Weight Loss Cure They Don't Want You to Know About. It's like déjà vu all over again - all over again.