National Advertising Division Recommends Datarails Disclose Material Connection to The Finance Weekly Website for Endorsement, Rankings, and Reviews

New York, NY – August 16, 2024 – In a Fast-Track SWIFT challenge, BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division recommended that Datarails, Inc. clearly and conspicuously disclose its material connection to The Finance Weekly website where endorsement, rankings, and reviews appear.

Cube Planning, Inc., a competitor in the Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) software solutions market, challenged Datarails advertising on The Finance Weekly website.

Fast-Track SWIFT is an expedited process designed for single-issue advertising cases brought to the National Advertising Division (NAD). At issue for NAD was whether the affiliation between The Finance Weekly and Datarails is adequately disclosed.

NAD determined that there was a material connection between Datarails and The Finance Weekly website and that connection was not clearly and conspicuously disclosed. NAD noted that Datarails advertises throughout the website (and appears to be the only advertiser on the website), however, portions of the website that rank services do not disclose this material connection.

To ensure that Datarails advertising does not mislead consumers, NAD recommended that Datarails clearly and conspicuously disclose its material connection to The Finance Weekly website where endorsement, rankings, and reviews appear.

Datarails denied knowledge of the rating and ranking criteria of The Finance Weekly. NAD noted that in using an expert endorsement, Datarails, like any advertiser, has an obligation to ensure the endorsement is truthful. 

Therefore, NAD recommended that Datarails discontinue using expert endorsements that do not:

• Have the correct experience to review the service;
• Review the product using that expertise to examine competing products or services; and
• Conclude the product or services are superior to other products or services with respect to the features reviewed.

In its advertiser statement, Datarails stated that it “intends to comply” with NAD’s recommendations. 

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