Advertising Self-Regulation

 

Promoting truthful, transparent, responsible advertising through self-regulation, monitoring, and enforcement

 

Businesses that advertise and market their products and services need to commit to truthful and responsible advertising, allowing consumers to make informed choices and companies to build and nurture valuable consumer relationships.

 

To learn more about our work—and to join in the effort—please check out the programs, initiatives, and resources below. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

50 Years of Advancing Responsible Child-Directed Marketing & Privacy

 

For the last 50 years, companies marketing to children have held each other to a higher standard. In 1974, the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) was established as the U.S. mechanism of independent self-regulation for protecting children under age 13 from deceptive or inappropriate advertising.  

 

 

 

Advertising Guidance

 

Since the creation of the National Advertising Division (NAD) in 1971, the advertising industry has supported high standards for truth and transparency through a comprehensive system of independent industry self-regulation programs.

 

Those programs enforce high standards of truth and accuracy in national advertising and ensure that advertising to children is not misleading or inappropriate. Beyond formal guidance, each of our case decisions contain real-world guidance on important advertising issues that attorneys can leverage for their clients and marketing professionals can follow to avoid advertising substantiation problems. Access summaries of all decisions in our Case Decision Summary library. Subscribe to the Online Archive for the full text of all decisions.

 

As the advertising landscape continues to evolve, we adapt our programs to the challenges posed by new products, new industries, and new advertising technology.

 

 

Truth in Advertising 101

 

Our educational resource library of tips, videos, and guidance shares advertising law basics, including defining common terms like ‘puffery,’ and how to draw the line between truthful and misleading advertising.

 

 


 

Endorsements & Testimonials

What is the proper way to use endorsements and testimonials in advertising, while staying truthful and out of the crosshairs of NAD and the FTC?

 

 


 
Puffery

Why don’t exaggerated or boasting claims made in advertising, known as puffery, require a reasonable basis of evidence?

 

 


 

Express and Implied Claims

What is the difference between an express or implied claim and does an advertiser need to have evidence to support both?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Process

 

Our advertising programs uphold standards for truthful and responsible advertising and responsible targeted advertising data collection practices through:

 

  • independent monitoring;

 

  • competitor challenges; and

 

  • corporate commitments to voluntary standards.

 

 

Though competitor advertising challenges, business can play a significant role in building trust with consumers and supporting fair competition in the marketplace.

 

 

 

 

 

Reports

The expansion of industry self-regulation programs across industries, most recently with the direct selling and dietary supplement industries, demonstrates how this voluntary system can be a proactive solution to emerging industry challenges. 

 

 

 

 

 

Recent Case Decisions

Decision

National Advertising Division Recommends Promotion in Motion Discontinue or Modify Certain Welch’s Fruit Snack Commercials

New York, NY – September 30, 2024 – The National Advertising Division recommended that PIM Brands discontinue certain television commercials for its Welch’s Fruit Snacks or modify the advertising to avoid conveying the message that competing fruit snacks are worthless.

Read the Decision
Decision

National Advertising Division Refers Comparative Efficacy Claims for HiSmile Toothbrushes to Regulatory Authorities for Further Review

New York, NY – August 29, 2024 – The National Advertising Division referred advertising claims made by HiSmile for its toothbrushes to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other regulatory authorities for review after HiSmile declined to participate in the industry self-regulation process.

Read the Decision Summary
Decision

In National Advertising Division Fast-Track SWIFT Case, SharkNinja Voluntarily Modifies Disclosure for “500x Less Dust Exposure” Claim

New York, NY – August 21, 2024 – The National Advertising Division has closed a Fast-Track SWIFT challenge initiated by Dyson regarding advertising by SharkNinja for its Shark Clean & Empty Cordless Stick Vacuum & Auto-Empty System. 

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Decision

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, the National Advertising Division recommended that Datarails clearly and conspicuously disclose its material connection to The Finance Weekly website where endorsement, rankings, and reviews appear.

Read the Decision Summary

 

BBB National Programs provides summaries of all case decisions in the Case Decision Summary library. For the full text of National Advertising Division, National Advertising Review Board, and Children’s Advertising Review Unit decisions, subscribe to the Online Archive. Other case decisions are available publicly: Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council and Digital Advertising Accountability Program. For members of the press, the full text of any BBB National Programs decision is available by emailing the request to press@bbbnp.org

 

 

Filtered Case Feeds

 

 

 

Online Archive

 

Gain access to all BBB National Programs full legal decisions in the Online Archive, a unique and valuable resource that provides years of insightful guidance and in-depth knowledge on important advertising issues. Learn more about the Online Archive.

 

The full text of some case decisions are available publicly: Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council and Digital Advertising Accountability Program. For members of the press, the full text of any BBB National Programs decision is available by emailing the request to press@bbbnp.org.

 

 

 

Latest Announcements

Press Release

BBB National Programs National Advertising Division Launches Expedited Fast-Track SWIFT Lane Designed to Address Misleading Advertising Disclosures

New York, NY – November 9, 2021 – Mindful of recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) actions, BBB National Programs today announced a new, streamlined lane of the expedited Fast-Track SWIFT challenge submission process, one designed specifically to address the prominence and sufficiency of...

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Press Release

BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division Launches NAD Fast-Track SWIFT, an Expedited Challenge Process for Certain Digital Advertising Claims

With state and federal courts across the country suspending trials and other legal proceedings to help contain the coronavirus pandemic, BBB National Programs, Inc.’s National Advertising Division (NAD) today launched its NAD Fast-Track SWIFT (Single Well-defined Issue Fast Track)...

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Resources

Breaking Down Greenwashing in Advertising

 

The 4A’s resource, Greenwashing and Advertising: What Your Agency Needs to Know When Making Environmental Claims provides an outline of the rules around making environmental advertising claims and how the National Advertising Division (NAD) and others are helping to regulate them. In the past decade, NAD cases involving environmental claims in advertising have been on the rise. NAD vice president Laura Brett said “Once you see something become a priority for consumers, the response of course is for the industry to offer products that meet that demand, and I think that is why we have seen an increase in challenges to environmental claims, a high-profile issue that a lot of consumers are concerned about.”

 

 

 

Events

FDLI Introduction to Advertising and Promotion for Medical Products

Katherine Armstrong, Deputy Director, National Advertising Division, BBB National Programs will discuss Beyond the FDA, the roles of agencies and non-governmental NGOs
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Oct 16, 2024 Washington, DC

DSA Engage Legal & Regulatory Seminar

Peter Marinello, Vice President, Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council, BBB National Programs, and Howard Smith, Deputy Director, Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council, BBB National Programs
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Oct 17, 2024 Washington, DC

FDLI Advertising & Promotion for Medical Products Conference

Annie Ugurlayan, Assistant Director, National Advertising Division, BBB National Programs will participate in the keynote panel
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Oct 17, 2024 Washington, DC

FDLI Advertising & Promotion for Medical Products Conference

Jennifer Santos, Attorney, National Advertising Division, BBB National Programs will participate in Pathways Toward Competitive Intelligence
Learn more
Oct 18, 2024 Washington, DC