The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced revisions to its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Several of the major changes include:
- Advertisers must disclose the results consumers can expect, rather than only including the disclaimer “results not typical.”
- Reviewers, including bloggers, who receive free products or payment for an endorsement must clearly disclose their connection with the advertiser.
- Celebrities must disclose their relationship with advertisers when making endorsements on talk shows, in social media, etc.
The revisions will go into effect on December 1st, 2009. For more information and for a copy of the FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, please visit http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm.