BDA Industries Takes Part In ERSP Forum

New York, NY – February 1, 2007 – The Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program (ERSP) has recommended that BDA Industries, marketer of the Infinity Razor, add a disclosure to performance claims made in product advertising. The company, ERSP noted, has voluntarily discontinued a comparative claim.

The marketer’s advertising was reviewed pursuant to ERSP’s routine monitoring program.

ERSP,  the  electronic  direct-response  industry’s  self-regulatory  forum,  is  administered  by  the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) with polic y oversight by the National Advertising Review Council (NARC).

ERSP reviewed core claims that include:

• “Blades so sharp and so strong it’s guaranteed for life.” “Lasts a lifetime.”
• “[T]he last razor you will ever have to buy.” “Shave kissably smooth shave after shave.” “Incredibly smooth shave, shave after shave.”
• “Expensive replacement blades cost hundreds of dollars a year, but you only buy the infinity razor once.”

ERSP, in its decision, noted that the marketer represented to ERSP that it had discontinued the broadcast advertising at issue. However, because BDA Industries indicated that it intends to disseminate select performance claims from the original advertisement, ERSP continued with its analysis regarding these claims.

ERSP determined that claims regarding the lifetime guarantee of the Infinity razor blades would be appropriate, as long as the marketer discloses its blade-replacement guarantee clearly and conspicuously in its advertising.

ERSP further determined that the claims  “Shave kissably smooth shave after shave.” and “Incredibly smooth shave, shave after shave” are non-actionable  puffery since they do not communicate a measurable claim that consumers would reasonably rely on in making a purchasing decision.

The marketer informed ERSP that it voluntarily discontinued its claim “Expensive replacement blades cost hundreds of dollars a year, but you only buy the infinity razor once…” and represented that it has no intentions of using the claim in future advertisements.