Mine’s Better than Yours: Managing Legal Considerations In Comparative Advertising Campaigns*

INTRODUCTION

Comparative advertising is a popular promotional technique which can be very effective. However, there is also a fine line between what is considered a fair comparative claim and what may be considered a violation of one of the many applicable statutory regimes or industry codes governing this complex area of the law. In order to employ an effective campaign or to successfully challenge an unfair claim, advertisers need to understand the legal rules of the road for comparative claims. This paper provides an overview of some of the key elements of the legal and regulatory framework, as well as a discussion of some important past experiences of advertisers in this area.