Nobody Does It Better: Puffery Or False Advertising?

A recent decision resolving an advertising dispute between Campbell Soup Company and Tropicana Products, Inc. reinforced what we know to be empirically true:  simply claiming to be the "best" really doesn't mean much at all.  See Tropicana Products, Inc., NAD Case Report No. 5610 (July 3, 2013). It's usually just hyperbole, a tool in the advertiser's toolbox too vague to put a competitor at a disadvantage, mere "puffery" in legal parlance.

The Challenged Commercial

The dispute, which was brought by Campbell before the National Advertising Division, a self-regulatory program administered by the Better Business Bureau, challenged a commercial stating

"If you want the world's best fruit and vegetable juice, look in the cooler.  Introducing Tropicana Farmstand, a deliciously chilled fruit and vegetable juice."