NARB ProgramBackgrounds

National Advertising Review Board

The National Advertising Review Board (NARB) is the appellate body for the U.S. system of advertising industry self-regulation. Five-member NARB panels hear cases appealing an NAD or CARU decision and provide independent industry peer review, ensuring truthfulness and accuracy in national advertising and helping promote voluntary compliance of its decisions—a key pillar of industry self-regulation.

Program Impact

NARB, established in 1971 as a fair and impartial appellate body, reviews appealed NAD or CARU decisions. Nominated by various leading organizations in the advertising industry, NARB members are selected for their stature and experience in their fields. 

 

 

Truth & Transparency

When a competitor’s advertising harms consumer trust or threatens a company’s reputation and market share, the advertising self-regulatory system creates a level-playing field for business and helps ensure consumers receive truthful and accurate advertising.

Compliance

After a decision, NARB or the challenger can check in on whether the advertiser has made appropriate modifications to its advertising and has 10 days to respond. The case is closed if there is a good faith effort to bring their advertising into compliance.

Non-Compliance

In cases of lack of good faith efforts to modify or discontinue advertising as a result of a NARB decision, NARB will refer the case to an appropriate government agency, usually the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
 

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.

 

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Guidelines & Procedures


Any advertiser or challenger has the right to appeal NAD’s decision to NARB. An advertiser has an automatic right of appeal. A challenger must request permission to appeal from the NARB chair and explain why it believes there is a substantial likelihood NARB would come to a different conclusion on a case than NAD. 

 

News & Blog

Press Release

BBB National Programs Announces 91 Distinguished Panel Pool Members for 2023 National Advertising Review Board

McLean, VA – January 10, 2023 – BBB National Programs today announced the 91 panel pool members of the 2023 National Advertising Review Board, the appellate body for the U.S. advertising industry’s system of self-regulation, selected for their stature and experience in their fields.

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Press Release

FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya to Keynote NAD 2022, Annual Conference of BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division

New York, NY – August 30, 2022 – The National Advertising Division (NAD) will host the NAD 2022 Annual Conference next month in Washington, D.C., on Monday, September 19 and Tuesday, September 20. NAD 2022 will be an in-person event for the first time since 2019, drawing speakers from across the advertising law...

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Blog

Expanding SWIFT: What’s New for 2023

NAD is expanding Fast-Track SWIFT so that all single-issue claims, express and implied, that do not require review of complex evidence or substantiation are eligible. In SWIFT, challenges are limited to issues that do not require review of complex evidence or substantiation, such as clinical or technical testing or consumer perception evidence, and cases are resolved within 20 business days or less.
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Blog

FTC’s New Health Claims Guidance: What You Need to Know

Health-related claims remain a priority for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), signaled by the release of important new guidance at the end of 2022: Health Products Compliance Guidance, replacing the Dietary Supplements: An Advertising Guide for Industry. Get to know these changes for health-related claims.
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Decisions

Decision

National Advertising Review Board Recommends American Beverage Association Modify Certain Environmental Benefit Claims for “Every Bottle Back” Initiative

New York, NY – March 16, 2023 – A panel of the National Advertising Review Board (NARB) recommended that the American Beverage Association (ABA) modify certain aspirational claims regarding the use of recycled materials in bottles, as well as claims relating to ABA’s partnerships with...

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Decision

National Advertising Review Board Recommends SharkNinja Discontinue or Modify Certain Claims for Shark Air Purifiers

New York, NY – March 8, 2023 – A panel of the National Advertising Review Board (NARB) recommended that SharkNinja discontinue claims that its Shark Air Purifier 6 meets or exceeds HEPA standards and that its air purifiers perform better than other HEPA-labeled air purifiers, and recommended they modify its “Clean...

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Decision

Comcast Appeals National Advertising Division Recommendation to Modify or Discontinue Certain Advertising Claims for Xfinity Mobile

New York, NY – March 16, 2023 – In a challenge brought by AT&T, the National Advertising Division (NAD) recommended that Comcast Cable modify claims that its Xfinity Mobile service is the “fastest mobile service;” discontinue its “most reliable,” “highest ranked,” and “best network” claims for Xfinity...

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Decision

National Advertising Division Finds Charter’s “Most Reliable Internet” Claim Supported; Recommendation to Modify or Discontinue Other Claims is Appealed

New York, NY – March 15, 2023 – Acting on a challenge brought by Frontier Communications, the National Advertising Division (NAD) determined that Charter Communications provided a reasonable basis for its “most reliable internet claim.” However, NAD recommended that Charter modify or...

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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. For members of the press, the full text of any BBB National Programs decision is available by emailing the request to press@bbbnp.org

 

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

 

 

 

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