-
Six Tips to Properly Advertise Your Health and Wellness Claims
Mar 31, 2021, 09:00 AM by Zheng Wang, Attorney, National Advertising DivisionAlthough businesses can advertise the benefits of their products, all messages conveyed by the advertising must be supported by a reasonable basis. Failure to adequately support a health or wellness claim can quickly get a business into trouble.Full story -
“Make Every Bite Count” When Feeding the Youngest Consumers
Mar 30, 2021, 10:09 AM by Lauren Eskenazi, Program Manager, Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising InitiativeThe recently updated 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) ask us to “make every bite count.” This is an important message in a year when parents have faced challenges on so many fronts, including cooking for their families and eating at home more often than pre-pandemic. For parents feeding very young children, timely guidance in the form of the latest edition of the DGAs arrived at the end of 2020 when, for the first time, they addressed the diets of infants and toddlers.Full story -
Bridgers At The Gap: How Executives Can Share Best Practices Across Sectors
Mar 25, 2021, 16:28 PM by Eric D. Reicin, President & CEO, BBB National ProgramsNonprofit organizations are often viewed as fundamentally different than for-profit enterprises, but those of us known as “bridgers” see striking similarities, albeit through a professional bifocal lens. We bridgers have transitioned in our careers from publicly traded or privately owned for-profit enterprises to nonprofit organizations, often with a goal to grow these nonprofits in pursuit of their missions. Our insights from both sides of “the bridge” provide us a dual perspective, where we can see that the needs, limitations and goals of for-profits and nonprofits are closer than they may seem at first glance.Full story -
Using Cy Pres to Tangibly Reduce Consumer Deception and Harm
Mar 24, 2021, 09:01 AM by Hal Hodes, Senior Attorney, National Advertising DivisionIn class action settlements, the cy pres doctrine allows for the distribution of unclaimed settlement funds to non-profit organizations that indirectly benefit the injured class. NAD fulfills its consumer protection mission through its own robust independent monitoring and investigation of misleading advertising in the marketplace.Full story -
Nutritional Advertising Claims: This Trend Requires No Sugar-Coating
Mar 10, 2021, 09:29 AM by Lauren Eskenazi, Program Manager, CFBAI and Robyn Lewis, Attorney, National Advertising DivisionThough the food advertising world has changed in many ways, health claims continue to play a role in food advertising and present challenges. Today’s food and beverage purchase decisions are influenced by far more than price, taste, familiarity, and brand loyalty.Full story -
Behind the seal: What does it mean to be a CARU Safe Harbor company?
Mar 4, 2021, 09:00 AM by Cameryn Gonnella, Compliance Manager, Children's Advertising Review UnitWhen the Children’s Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) passed in 1998, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) began to approve industry groups to administer an independent, self-regulatory program that implements protections for children as outlined in the COPPA Rule. The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) was the first such group in the U.S. to receive FTC approval. Learn more about what's behind the CARU Safe Harbor seal.Full story -
Protecting Consumers Against False Advertising: Lessons from the National Advertising Division
Mar 3, 2021, 09:00 AM by Katherine Armstrong, Deputy Director, and Zheng Wang, Attorney, National Advertising DivisionDuring this year’s National Consumer Protection Week it's worth taking a closer look at how advertising fits into the consumer protection puzzle. Consumer protection is core to our mission at NAD and critical to a robust and competitive marketplace. Here we outline seven distinct advantages of filing an NAD challenge.Full story -
Harmful Stereotyping in Advertising Must Not Be a “Forever Problem”
Feb 26, 2021, 09:00 AM by La Toya Sutton, Attorney and Kat Dunnigan, Senior Attorney, National Advertising DivisionThough the annual celebration of Black History Month is drawing to a close, the plethora of issues raised by the study of Black history must always remain top of mind. For those of us who work in truth in advertising at NAD, we are paying very close attention to the issues of diversity and stereotyping, as presented in various forms of advertising.Full story -
5 Tips for Truthful and Transparent Influencer Marketing and Product Reviews
Feb 24, 2021, 11:18 AM by Laura Brett, Vice President, National Advertising Division and Mary Engle, Executive Vice President, Policy, BBB National ProgramsBBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division is dedicated to truth-in-advertising. To help you ensure that influencer marketing and the use of product reviews in your advertising is both transparent and truthful, we offer the following five tips.Full story -
In 2021, Consumer And Stakeholder Privacy Is About Defining Trust
Feb 19, 2021, 13:25 PM by Eric D. Reicin, President & CEO, BBB National ProgramsAs business and nonprofit leaders navigate the Fourth Industrial Revolution, consumer and stakeholder privacy has become a matter of defining trust. As new digital services and connected devices fueled by personal data flourish, consumers’ reasonable expectation of privacy shifts. If expectations do not match reality, it can lead to gaps in trust and new paths for litigation and regulatory enforcement. In this piece I outline a few 2021 privacy developments business and nonprofit leaders should note.Full story -
Broadening the Definition of Express and Implicit Representation in Children’s Advertising
Feb 18, 2021, 09:38 AM by By Rashida Gordon, CARU Analyst, BBB National ProgramsOne way to gauge exactly how far we have come in implementing diversity and inclusion is by analyzing what we see on our screens, particularly in advertising. The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) recognizes the special vulnerabilities of children with their limited knowledge, experience, sophistication, and maturity and often places itself in children’s shoes to gain insight when assessing the role advertisement has in shaping their perception.Full story -
Misleading Health Claims in COVID-19 Advertising
Feb 17, 2021, 09:56 AM by Annie Ugurlayan, Assistant Director, and Laura Brett, Vice President, National Advertising DivisionTruth in advertising is important to protect consumers and help level the playing field for fair competition in the marketplace. This core concept becomes especially important when advertising health-related products, including over-the-counter drugs and dietary supplements.Full story -
Big Game, Ad Claims: Reflecting on Super Bowl Advertising Tactics
Feb 10, 2021, 16:55 PM by Laura Brett, Vice President and La Toya Sutton, Attorney of the National Advertising DivisionSuper Bowl LV was watched by a total of 96.4 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings provided by CBS Sports, and you may have noticed on social media that we decided to have some fun this year. With a little creative help, we developed a game called #BigGameAdClaim BINGO. Being competitive types, we were looking closely for our industry’s fun phrases such as sustainability claims, anthropomorphic animals, and superior performance claims.Full story -
Champions for Truth in Advertising
Jan 27, 2021, 14:43 PM by Clint Perez, originally published on MediumToday, the National Advertising Division (NAD) continues to carry the torch for truth-in-advertising. As the advertising landscape has evolved over the last 50 years, NAD has continued to adapt to new products, new industries, and new advertising media. Laura Brett, Vice President of NAD, and New York Office Lead for BBB National Programs discusses truth-in-advertising trends, hot topics, and issues that lie ahead.Full story -
Status Update on Transatlantic Data Transfers: Building Bridges Takes Time
Dec 30, 2020, 10:24 AM by Cobun Zweifel-Keegan, Deputy Director, Privacy Initiatives, BBB National ProgramsAs 2020 draws to a close it is a good time to reflect on learnings about the future of authorized transatlantic data transfer mechanisms. In light of Brexit and continuing developments surrounding Schrems II, we discuss what the structure of the current Privacy Shield Framework can teach us much about what future commercial transfer mechanisms are likely to look like, as well as what businesses can do to shore up their compliance efforts.Full story -
Operation Income Illusion: A Positive Step by the FTC to Curb Deceptive Income Claims
Dec 23, 2020, 09:00 AM by BBB National ProgramsThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s December 14 Operation Income Illusion initiative is a crackdown by the FTC and 19 federal, state, and local law enforcement partners against those that purport to offer significant income opportunities but that end up costing consumers thousands of dollars. This effort is consistent with an ongoing effort in the direct selling industry to ensure income claims are communicated truthfully and accurately.Full story -
CFBAI and CCAI 2019 Report on Compliance and Progress Published
Dec 21, 2020, 19:23 PM by BBB National ProgramsBBB National Programs has published the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) and Children’s Confection Advertising Initiative (CCAI) Report on Compliance and Progress During 2019. The report finds excellent compliance by all companies participating in the programs from January 2019 – December 2019. The report also notes the CFBAI participants’ implementation of stricter Uniform Nutrition Criteria in 2020.Full story -
CARU’s Year in Review: Defining Kidvertising and Tackling Hot Topics Head On
Dec 10, 2020, 09:00 AM by BBB National ProgramsDuring an uncertain year, the team at the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) stayed busy. Through casework, online conferences, an evolving technology landscape, updates to policy and guidelines, and new thought leadership, our efforts furthered our mission to help companies comply with the laws and guidelines that protect children and their personal data.Full story -
Navigating In-App Advertising in Children’s Apps
Dec 3, 2020, 09:02 AM by BBB National ProgramsWhile the FCC regulates children’s cable television and allows for only 10.5-12 minutes of advertising to be shown per hour, there is no comparable guidance to regulate the volume or frequency of ads in digital advertising.Full story -
For Business, It Is A Time To Lead
Dec 2, 2020, 09:00 AM by Eric D. Reicin, President & CEO, BBB National ProgramsWith results from the presidential election officially in but the U.S. Senate in a state of uncertainty until Georgia’s runoffs in January, businesses are contemplating what a divided government could mean for them. Yet while it is only prudent to assess how executive and legislative decisions might reshape marketplace conditions over the next several years, I suggest there is a more pressing problem for businesses to address right now: a lack of trust in the marketplace.Full story
Suggested Articles
Blog
American Privacy Rights Act: A Primer for Business
Was it the recent series of natural phenomena that prompted Congress to move on a bipartisan, bicameral federal privacy bill? We can’t say with certainty, but we can outline for you what we believe to be, at first glance, the most compelling elements of the American Privacy Rights Act of 2024 (APRA).
Read more
Blog
Take Care of Your “Health-Lite” Claims
Some advertisers believe they can avoid scrutiny when making health-related claims by making their claim “softer.” But context is key. Health benefit claims must comply with the FTC’s Health Products Compliance Guidance. The substantiation bar is not lowered by changing the approach to the health-related claim.
Read more
Blog
Bullish but Cautionary: A Balanced Way to Approach the Impact of AI
Business and nonprofit leaders in the U.S. may not feel so weighty a responsibility in assessing the global impact of AI, but we must realize AI’s power to impact our organizations, our local economies, our sectors, and our nation.
Read more
Blog
New Rules of the Road Can Sustain US Leadership on Interoperable Digital Data Flows
President Biden closed February 2024 with an EO that signaled an important development for how the U.S. plans to position and guard itself from global adversaries, and speaks volumes about how the U.S. views the next-generation impacts of data flows on the digital economy and how our nation can be better equipped as a global leader. Read our takeaways and future considerations.
Read more