FTC Updates Endorsement Guide FAQs

Six years ago the FTC updated its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (the "Guides") and issued FAQs to explain the impact of the changes on new marketing channels and techniques. Last week, the FTC again updated its guidance through a new set of FAQs. The revised FAQs re-affirm the underlying truth-in-advertising principles of the Guides: endorsements must be honest and properly substantiated and any disclosures of material connection between the endorser and the advertiser must be clear and conspicuous. Drawing on recent FTC enforcement actions, the new FAQs reveal the FTC's current thinking about a number of very common marketing techniques. Marketers should review the new guidance with counsel. Here's a summary of important points.