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FTC Endorsement and Testimonial Guidelines In 2009, the FTC issued revised guidelines on the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising. The guidelines include the following: • There are several kinds of endorsers, including experts providing their expert opinions about the advertised product, consumers relating their experiences with the product (commonly referred to as “testimonials”), and organizations that may grant some sort of certification or approval. On the other hand, individuals who are merely spokespersons and are not purporting to provide their own opinions or experiences are not covered by the Guidelines. Nor are bloggers or others who go on review websites and provide their opinions, so long as they are not connected in any way with the advertiser. • Endorsements must reflect the honest opinions, beliefs, or experiences of the endorser. Any claims made by the endorser beyond this must be true and substantiated. In other words, if the claim would have been deceptive if made directly by the advertiser, it is deceptive when made by the endorser. • Endorsements may not be presented out of context or reworded in a way that distorts the endorser’s opinions or experiences. If the endorser is presented as a user of the product, he or she must have actually used it. • The experiences related in consumer testimonials must reflect the typical, or representative, experience of consumers generally. If they do not, the advertiser must clearly and conspicuously disclose what the typical experience is. A disclosure like “results not typical”or “results may vary”is not sufficient. • If there is a material connection between the endorser and the advertiser that might affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement, that connection must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously. A material connection could include the payment of compensation or providing free products to the endorser, for example, an endorser who touts her experiences with the product on a social networking site in exchange for free product or payment of money. Other Advertising Guidelines The FTC has published additional advertising guidelines that often apply to dealers. One example concerns the use of the word “free” in advertising. The FTC prohibits use of the word “free” in describing a product if that product is soldwith another product or service as towhich the price is arrived at through bargaining. FTC guidelines alsowarn that it is deceptive to advertise a discount unless the price is less than the regular price of the product. For example, an advertiser cannot raise the regular price of a product and then advertise a discount on that inflated price. Statements such as “repossession sale,”“fleet liquidation,”“end-of-lease sale,”or other unusual sale circumstances must be true in fact. If a vehicle is advertised at “factory invoice”or the like, the terms must represent the dealer’s ultimate total vehicle cost, including any holdbacks or manufacturer incentives. Advertisements for a particular product need to include a disclosure if there are limited quantities of that product available. And advertisers should not engage in “bait and switch”advertising.

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