National Advertising Division
Program Impact
Truth & Transparency
Voluntary self-regulation helps create an honest and fair marketplace. Companies benefit from a level playing field and consumers benefit from a more trustworthy marketplace. A 90% participation rate demonstrates the depth of industry’s commitment to self-regulation and truth and transparency.Issues We Examine
NAD’s legal team specializes in examining advertising claims for a diverse set of goods and services like telecommunications, infant nutrition, over-the-counter medication, and dietary supplements for a wide variety of issues from product efficacy to influencer marketing and the use of consumer reviews.Time & Cost
The NAD process resolves advertising disputes efficiently and almost always faster than a court proceeding. There is no document discovery or depositions, no counterclaims, and the process requires less investment in time and cost than litigating a case.Navigating Uncertainty
NAD has a published body of case precedent and is staffed by decision makers dedicated to resolving advertising disputes, using a process that provides advertisers the right to appeal adverse decisions to the National Advertising Review Board (NARB).
For the last 50 years in the advertising industry, companies have held each other to a higher standard. In response to the pressures and criticisms of consumerism that had mounted during the previous decade, in 1971 the advertising industry established the National Advertising Division (NAD) and National Advertising Review Board (NARB), the U.S. mechanism of independent self-regulation that has stood the test of time and technological innovation.
NAD Challenges
NAD offers three options for submitting challenges for review: Standard Track, Complex Track, and Fast-Track SWIFT. Click on the options below for more information on each track's process, challenge eligibility requirements, timeline, and fees to determine which track is best suited to handle your needs. BBB National Programs National Partners receive a discount on filing fees.
Fast-Track SWIFT
Single-issue digital advertising cases with decisions in 20 business days. Learn MoreComplex Track
Cases requiring complex substantiation. Time to decision is determined by the parties. Learn More
Why Use NAD for Advertising Challenges
When a competitor’s advertising harms consumer trust or threatens a company’s reputation and market share, decision makers need to answer three key questions:
- Which forum will resolve my challenge most efficiently—federal court, Federal Trade Commission complaint, or NAD challenge?
The NAD process promotes truthful advertising resolving advertising disputes efficiently. Unless advertising is so misleading and causing sufficient harm that a temporary restraining order application will likely succeed, the NAD process is typically faster than a court proceeding.
- How much will it cost?
Filing a challenge with NAD is almost always more cost effective than other options. There is no document discovery. There is no deposition. The matter cannot be delayed by filing counterclaims. Our streamlined process saves time and money.
- What are the risks?
Because NAD has a published body of case precedent and is staffed by decision makers dedicated to resolving advertising disputes, the outcome is more predictable than a court proceeding where individual judges have crowded dockets of a wide array of cases and different decision-making styles. Our procedures provide advertisers with an automatic right to appeal adverse decisions to the self-regulatory system’s peer review body, the National Advertising Review Board.
NAD’s Monitoring Program
As part of its public interest mission to ensure consumers receive truthful and accurate advertising messages, NAD initiates approximately 20-25% of its cases each year based on its own monitoring of advertising in a wide variety of product categories. The goal of NAD’s monitoring cases is to expand the universe of advertising claims that are reviewed for truth and transparency and provide guidance for future advertising. In determining whether to open a monitoring case, NAD considers whether the advertising meets one or more of the following criteria:
- Targets a vulnerable population (elderly, children, special needs, etc.);
- Capitalizes on consumer fears or misunderstanding;
- Fills a gap in regulatory efforts of the FTC and state AGs;
- Addresses novel or emerging issue of interest for the advertising industry;
- Concerns claims that consumers cannot evaluate for themselves;
- Achieves diversity among industries that historically participate in self-regulation.
Policies & Procedures
Any company, consumer, or non-governmental organization can file a challenge with NAD. We handle about 150 cases each year and our decisions represent the single largest body of advertising decisions in the United States. The NAD | NARB Policies and Procedures describe the details and parameters of NAD's challenge review process.
News & Blog
Vitamin Bounty Voluntarily Discontinues Social Media Posts for Elderberry Immune Support Following NAD Inquiry into Implied COVID-19 Messages
For Immediate Release703.247.9330 / press@bbbnp.org
New York, NY – October 13, 2020 – Following an inquiry by the National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs, Vitamin Bounty/Matherson Organics, LLC (“Vitamin Bounty”) discontinued Instagram and Facebook social media posts for its Vitamin Bounty Elderberry Immune Support, which conveyed implied messages about boosting immunity to protect users against, or treat, COVID-19.
Through its routine monitoring program, NAD challenged Vitamin Bounty’s Instagram post for Elderberry Immune Support with the text:
- “[a]s restrictions are gradually lifting, it’s more important than ever to keep your immune system strong. Our Elderberry Immune Support keeps you protected with vitamin C, zinc, elderberries, garlic and echinacea; a powerful immune-boosting combo.”
Health and safety concerns are a top priority for NAD’s monitoring efforts, with particular attention currently focused on advertising for dietary supplements and other products claiming to treat COVID-19. NAD noted that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have both stated that there are no approved vaccines, drugs, or investigational products currently available to treat or prevent COVID-19. Both the FDA and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have issued dozens of warning letters to companies making claims about their products’ ability to treat or prevent COVID-19.
NAD initially referred this case to the FDA and FTC for review because the advertiser did not respond to NAD’s request to provide substantiation for its claims. However, following this referral, Vitamin Bounty subsequently returned to NAD and agreed to participate in the advertising self-regulatory forum.
In its response to NAD, the advertiser voluntarily discontinued the social media post in question, as well as additional social media posts on Facebook, which made similar implied claims about the ability of Vitamin Bounty Elderberry Immune Support to boost immunity to treat COVID-19.
NAD appreciates that advertiser’s permanent discontinuance of the challenged advertisements and its commitment to avoid making any express or implied claims that promote its product’s ability to protect consumers against COVID-19.
In its advertiser’s statement, Vitamin Bounty stated that it “accepts NAD’s decision in its entirety and has discontinued the advertising in question.”
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About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs is where businesses turn to enhance consumer trust and consumers are heard. The non-profit organization creates a fairer playing field for businesses and a better experience for consumers through the development and delivery of effective third-party accountability and dispute resolution programs. Embracing its role as an independent organization since the restructuring of the Council of Better Business Bureaus in June 2019, BBB National Programs today oversees more than a dozen leading national industry self-regulation programs, and continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-directed marketing, and privacy. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.
About the National Advertising Division: The National Advertising Division (NAD), a division of BBB National Programs, provides independent self-regulation and dispute resolution services, guiding the truthfulness of advertising across the U.S. NAD reviews national advertising in all media and its decisions set consistent standards for advertising truth and accuracy, delivering meaningful protection to consumers and leveling the playing field for business.
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Decisions
Vitamin Bounty Voluntarily Discontinues Social Media Posts for Elderberry Immune Support Following NAD Inquiry into Implied COVID-19 Messages
703.247.9330 / press@bbbnp.org
New York, NY – October 13, 2020 – Following an inquiry by the National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs, Vitamin Bounty/Matherson Organics, LLC (“Vitamin Bounty”) discontinued Instagram and Facebook social media posts for its Vitamin Bounty Elderberry Immune Support, which conveyed implied messages about boosting immunity to protect users against, or treat, COVID-19.
Through its routine monitoring program, NAD challenged Vitamin Bounty’s Instagram post for Elderberry Immune Support with the text:
- “[a]s restrictions are gradually lifting, it’s more important than ever to keep your immune system strong. Our Elderberry Immune Support keeps you protected with vitamin C, zinc, elderberries, garlic and echinacea; a powerful immune-boosting combo.”
Health and safety concerns are a top priority for NAD’s monitoring efforts, with particular attention currently focused on advertising for dietary supplements and other products claiming to treat COVID-19. NAD noted that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have both stated that there are no approved vaccines, drugs, or investigational products currently available to treat or prevent COVID-19. Both the FDA and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have issued dozens of warning letters to companies making claims about their products’ ability to treat or prevent COVID-19.
NAD initially referred this case to the FDA and FTC for review because the advertiser did not respond to NAD’s request to provide substantiation for its claims. However, following this referral, Vitamin Bounty subsequently returned to NAD and agreed to participate in the advertising self-regulatory forum.
In its response to NAD, the advertiser voluntarily discontinued the social media post in question, as well as additional social media posts on Facebook, which made similar implied claims about the ability of Vitamin Bounty Elderberry Immune Support to boost immunity to treat COVID-19.
NAD appreciates that advertiser’s permanent discontinuance of the challenged advertisements and its commitment to avoid making any express or implied claims that promote its product’s ability to protect consumers against COVID-19.
In its advertiser’s statement, Vitamin Bounty stated that it “accepts NAD’s decision in its entirety and has discontinued the advertising in question.”
###
About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs is where businesses turn to enhance consumer trust and consumers are heard. The non-profit organization creates a fairer playing field for businesses and a better experience for consumers through the development and delivery of effective third-party accountability and dispute resolution programs. Embracing its role as an independent organization since the restructuring of the Council of Better Business Bureaus in June 2019, BBB National Programs today oversees more than a dozen leading national industry self-regulation programs, and continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-directed marketing, and privacy. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.
About the National Advertising Division: The National Advertising Division (NAD), a division of BBB National Programs, provides independent self-regulation and dispute resolution services, guiding the truthfulness of advertising across the U.S. NAD reviews national advertising in all media and its decisions set consistent standards for advertising truth and accuracy, delivering meaningful protection to consumers and leveling the playing field for business.
Upcoming Events
NAD 2021 Annual Conference
Cardozo Fashion Law Society & Cardozo FAME Center's It's Not Easy Being Green
Veeva Global Summit
Institute for Perception's Current Topics in Sensory and Consumer Science