What You Missed at NAD 2024: The Global Future of Ad Law

At this year’s BBB National Programs National Advertising Division (NAD) Annual Conference, we welcomed a record number of attendees from businesses of all sizes to New York City. We delved into the most pressing issues in advertising law and shared best practices to address what is coming next.  

If you missed NAD 2024: Charting the Global Future of Ad Law last month, here is a glimpse of the discussions from the NAD team, leading advertising law lawyers, academics, regulators, and experts from around the world. 

From the Federal Trade Commission, we had the honor of hearing from Commissioner Melissa Holyoak, Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Samuel Levine, and Associate Director for Advertising Practices Serena Viswanathan. 

In her keynote remarks at the start of Day 2, Commissioner Holyoak shared her perspective on a few of the “wrong turns” she feels that the FTC has taken that she argued exceeded its authority, engaging in rulemaking that is, in her view, too broad. Specifically, the Commissioner said, “I have been dismayed to see the Commission act outside the bounds authorized by Congress, both in the consumer protection and competition contexts.”   

The Commissioner offered “an alternative vision for the FTC’s work on privacy and AI” and expressed her preference for an agency “focused less on banning and branding and more on grappling with complexity to address harms” and described her interest in tackling the tough questions associated with advertising to kids and teens as well as stopping AI fraud and other AI-fueled deception.      

Samuel Levine’s remarks showcased the FTC’s efforts to save consumers time and money. He identified how the FTC is “targeting abuses we’re seeing around vehicles, schools, and housing – some of the biggest pain points facing consumers” and discussed the FTC’s priorities to protect consumers and competition as well as workers and entrepreneurs. Levine highlighted the FTC’s focus on ending junk fees and other practices that harm consumers and, like Commissioner Holyoak, he discussed the FTC’s scrutiny of AI, noting that the FTC is “taking a proactive approach to addressing AI-related harms.”  

Levine went on to say that the FTC is learning from history regarding AI-fueled fraud, stating that “over the last year, we’ve already sued one firm defrauding consumers with AI claims, and we’re just getting started. But we’re also making sure we have the tools we need to shut down these schemes.” 

Our FTC speakers and a variety of focused panel discussions prompted thought-provoking networking conversations with fellow attendees.  NAD’s newest attorneys kicked off Day 1 with a fast-paced Year in Review covering recent trends in key NAD cases and noted an uptick in challenges this year involving household products and challenges to comparative superiority claims.    

Claim substantiation was the focus of the conference. Multiple panels over the course of the two-day event discussed this topic, beginning on Day 1 with a historical overview of puffery and examined when a boastful claim crosses the line and requires substantiation.  

Immediately following that conversation, the next panel dug into the kind and amount of substantiation required and included the perspective of the R&D team. On Day 2, in-house and outside counsel addressed how best to use existing testing, walking the audience through a number of nuanced hypotheticals.   

Here are a few other highlights from our packed agenda: 

• Advice on managing influencer relationships from the perspective of the brand, the agency, and the influencer. If you were unable to attend this year, you missed a no-holds-bar conversation with a beauty influencer who shared her influencer journey. 
• A robust discussion of the current state of environmental marketing, examining today’s risks associated with making general “green” claims, and the potential threats to innovation if companies cannot tout their “green” achievements.   
• An illuminating session on “Dark Patterns,” exploring the fine line between effective marketing and behavior that misleads consumers from the in-house and outside counsel perspective with insights from a marketing professor.
• Insights on AI with US and UK perspectives on the legal, ethical, and unknown impacts associated with AI and the dizzying array of current and potential regulations surrounding AI.  
• Reflecting the international component of this year’s conference and the next day’s annual meeting of the International Counsel on Advertising Self-Regulation (ICAS) in New York, ICAS previewed the launch of its Global Think Tank and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) noted the upcoming release its 12th Edition of the ICC Code of Advertising & Marketing Communications and explained its significance as a cornerstone for ethical marketing and advertising standards around the world. 

Thank you to our sponsors who made this event possible, our speakers who brought their expertise to the stage and shared valuable insights with attendees, the NAD team for their leadership in all things advertising law, and to our attendees for joining us to network with such an incredible group of professionals. 

We hope to see you next year in Washington, DC for NAD 2025 – we will reach out to you when registration opens. If you want to make sure you are on our lists, complete the form at the bottom of the event webpage.

In the meantime, subscribe to my monthly newsletter Ad Law Insights to stay up to date on everything happening in the world of advertising law.