National Advertising Division Refers Advertising Claims Made by Nectar Sleep, LLC To Federal Trade Commission.

New York, NY – Feb. 25, 2019 – The National Advertising Division has referred advertising claims made by Nectar Sleep, LLC for its Nectar Mattress to the Federal Trade Commission for further review. The advertiser did not respond to NAD’s requests to provide substantiation for its claims.

NAD is an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation. It is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

The truth and accuracy of the advertiser’s claims was brought to the attention of the NAD by Tuft & Needle, LLC, maker of competing mattresses.

The claims at issue included:

Express Claims

• “LIMITED OFFER: $125 Off + 2 Free Pillows.”

Implied Claims

• The Nectar mattress was previously sold at a higher price.
• The Nectar pillows are available for purchase.

The challenger argued that Nectar Sleep’s claims were false and misleading to consumers. According to the challenger, the claim, “LIMITED OFFER: $125 Off + 2 Free Pillows.” misrepresents the price at which the Nectar mattress is sold because (1) it is not, in fact, offered for a limited time because this price point is always available to the purchaser, and (2) the pillows are never offered for sale by Nectar, therefore they are misleadingly offered as “free.”

In light of the failure to provide a substantive response to NAD’s request for substantiation for the challenged claims or participate in any way in the self-regulatory process, NAD has referred the matter to the FTC for possible enforcement action.

Note: A recommendation by NAD to modify or discontinue a claim is not a finding of wrongdoing and an advertiser’s voluntary discontinuance or modification of claims should not be construed as an admission of impropriety. It is the policy of NAD not to endorse any company, product, or service. Decisions finding that advertising claims have been substantiated should not be construed as endorsements.