FTC Changes policies on Endorsements
-by Timothy Caron

Hey Guy’s and Gal’s

In a recent article posted by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) it’s been stated that rules have changed when it comes to Testimonial and Celebrity Endorsements.

Under the revised Guides, advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her experience with a product or service as typical when that is not the case will be required to clearly disclose the results that consumers can generally expect. In contrast to the 1980 version of the Guides – which allowed advertisers to describe unusual results in a testimonial as long as they included a disclaimer such as “results not typical” – the revised Guides no longer contain this safe harbor.

This I believe will curtail a lot of misinformation when it comes to products that we purchase online, and force many marketers to start being more realistic in their promotional efforts.

Those testimonials that you see on many websites will now have to convey the relationship between the the person giving the testimonial and the person selling the product, to avoid deceptive practices.

What’s your take?

Do you use testimonials on your website? And how will this change the way you do business online?

Until next time, have a wonderful day.