Straight Talk - An Open Letter To You

Hey The FTC Made Me Do It - Publishing Ads In E-Zines

by John Glube, © 2003 and beyond, all rights reserved of
Head's Up - A Copywriter's Journal

The FTC made me do what? You run an e-zine. One of your subscriber's submits a 5 line classified ad which you sense is a bit "ripe," giving off the smell of a dead fish, with a performance claim which makes your eye's pop with wonder.

Do you as a publisher have any responsibilities? And what about your advertisers? How can advertisers make life easier for publishers.

Before answering these two questions, why all the recent fuss in the online business media about the United States Federal Trade Commission.

In May the United States Federal Trade Commission gave notice to all and sundry the Internet is not lawless. When the action heats up this fall, look for continued pursuit of the bad guys.

Don’t want to get caught in the ‘cross-fire’? Then listen up. As a publisher you have a responsibility to keep your advertisers on their toes.

Why? Because if you knowingly publish an ad containing misleading claims, you as the publisher can find yourself on the hook.

And the FTC defines knowingly in this case as "knew, or ought to have known." Meaning in essence, you as a prudent publisher, ought to have made inquiries. Based on whose standard? The standard of care exercised by a publisher with a working knowledge of the FTC's rules, because "innocence of the law is no excuse."

What to do? Apply these simple rules and you will be ok.

Use your common sense. Apply the smell test. Does the advertiser's claim sound too good to be true? Ask for proof and when the claim turns out to be the exception to the rule, so requiring a clarifying statement, what the lawyers call a disclaimer, then politely reject the ad.

Keep abreast of the problem areas by checking into the FTC site to know what is on their ‘hot list.’ Presently the problem areas are "extravagant performance claims, health or weight loss promises, and earnings guarantees."

Running an ad where the advertiser says for example ‘You too can make $25,000 a month in the next 30 days’, ‘Loose 30 lbs overnight using QRS’, ‘Buy XYZ and save yourself from cancer’, or ‘Increase your sales by 420% in less than 20 minutes’ are all potentially problems.

Why are these problems? Because when an advertiser makes a specific claim, the claim must be true and unless the advertiser gives specific testing results, the advertiser must be able to substantiate the claim with adequate proof to satisfy the "jaundiced eyes" of a reasonable consumer. And what is a reasonable consumer?

Ultimately, what ever the FTC thinks, based on appropriate inquiries, is a reasonable consumer.

When the claim is an exceptional result, the advertiser has to say it is an exceptional result and the general consensus is this statement needs to be made next to the specific claim to ensure proper disclosure, which is not possible in a 5 line classified ad.

In rejecting an ad, you can tell your advertiser in essence:

"I would really like to publish your ad, but as written it appears to violate the FTC rules on material claims. Since I don't wish to run the risk of joining you on the block, can you re-submit your ad, removing the offending claim, being ..."

Also, let your advertisers know, hey ... follow the FTC rules in your advertising. You may even wish to provide a link to the FTC's publication: "Advertising and Marketing On The Internet: Rules Of the Road"

And what can advertisers do to make life easier for their publishers?

Follow the rules. Submit ads without using extreme claims. Don't say, "use our revolutionary new technology and see your results improve by 710%," when you know "this is a wild and exceptional result," does not reflect what the average user of your product will achieve and based on your own tests "an average product user will only see a 10% increase in performance."

When making a specific claim, ensure it represents exactly what the average person can achieve and you can properly prove the claims you make. This way you and your publisher will not have to go 10 rounds over your classified advertisement.

As the man said: "Hey, don't blame me - the only two things you have to do when marketing online are pay taxes and follow the FTC."

Now my disclaimer. Although I have a law degree and a working knowledge of the relevant FTC rules, I am a writer, copywriter and marketer, not a lawyer. What I review with you in this article is based on my own studies and experience for your information. Were you to have a question or concern, you will want to consult with competent counsel.

Click here for the next article - "Gold Bars Or Dog Food - Marketing To FFA Leads"