Federal Trade Commission to crackdown on deceptive testimonials

The Federal Trade Commission is preparing to put an end to commercials that flaunt disingenuous results while hiding behind disclaimers like "results not typical" or "individual results may vary."

The FTC's guidelines for marketers, designed to empower consumers to independently judge the worthiness of a product, have not been updated since 1980. Since then, marketers have increasingly relied on deceptive advertisements that mask a product's true effect.

"The use of consumer testimonials had become almost a safe harbor for companies as long as they threw in some sort of disclaimer about results not being typical," Richard Cleland, assistant director of the FTC's division of advertising practices told the Chicago Tribune.

Under the new rules, marketers would be able to demonstrate extreme examples only if they also demonstrated more typical results. Advertisers who fail to comply could be subject to legal action.

The proposal would also extend to bloggers and corporate web sites, which worries the Word of Mouth Marketing Association.

"For example, could a blogger be subject to liability for endorsements even if they represent an honest appraisal of the product and the blogger's experience?," WOMMA President John Bell asked. "Bloggers might be afraid to state their opinions or experiences if they believe they go against the grain of mainstream opinion or are not supported by empirical evidence."

The rules, originally proposed two years ago, are currently under final review and are expected to be adopted once finalized.