Archives: Advertising

Brand NFT Advertising Basics, or One for All of Us Who Wanted a Pony Growing Up, Who Don’t Quite Get the NFT Buzz, and Who Really, Really Need a Vacation

By Amy Ralph Mudge and Matthew Renick on January 18, 2022 Posted in Advertising

This may be one of the best ads in recent memory – an ad promoting visiting Lexington, Kentucky, horse capital of the world. The ad promises to make kids’ holiday dreams come true with the opportunity to buy “Non Fungible Thoroughbreds” at VisitLEX. The horses have names like Ol’ Pixel Face, iHorse, OpenSea Biscuit, Notta … Continue Reading

AdTech: Regulation, Compliance and Where We are Heading

By Theodore J. Kobus III on January 10, 2022 Posted in Advertising

Partners Fernando Bohorquez, Gerald Ferguson, Linda Goldstein and Jeewon Serrato, and Associate Justin Yedor served as panelists in a recent article published in the January 2022 issue of Financier Worldwide. In the article, they offer insights regarding key advertising technology regulation and compliance trends, including recent digital advertising efforts, benefits and insights, and current regulatory … Continue Reading

Dreaming of Ads for Sugarplums

By Amy Ralph Mudge on December 23, 2021 Posted in Advertising

Leading into the long holiday weekend, we on the BakerHostetler Advertising, Marketing & Digital Media team have lots to be thankful for. Our newest partner, Daniel, has really helped remind us how much we enjoy blogging. As we are pushing off the pandemic languishing, one of our resolutions is to commit to more consistent posts … Continue Reading

Less to the FTC’s Notice of Penalty Offenses Than Meets the Eye?

By Amy Ralph Mudge and Randal M. Shaheen on November 2, 2021 Posted in Advertising, FTC

The FTC’s Notice of Penalty Offenses concerning endorsements and testimonials is barely a week old and it’s likely already had its intended effect. Hundreds, if not more, of consumer products companies are taking a second or third look at their practices when it comes to endorsements and testimonials and are beefing up their training and … Continue Reading

CARU’s Revised Guidelines Are Not Kid-ding Around

By Amy Ralph Mudge, Michael Ingram and Carolina Alonso on October 15, 2021 Posted in Advertising, COPPA, FTC, Gaming

By: Amy Mudge, Mike Ingram and Carolina Alonso The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) recently held their “Kidvertising” workshop to discuss the revised CARU Advertising Guidelines, which are set to take effect on January 1, 2022. The workshop tackled several issues important to child advertising including diversity and inclusion, influencers, and in-app and in-game advertising. … Continue Reading

FTC Puts 700+ Companies on Notice to Expect to Pay Penalties for Any Endorsement Violations

By Linda A. Goldstein, Amy Ralph Mudge, Randal M. Shaheen, John P. Ferry and Matthew Renick on October 13, 2021 Posted in Advertising, FTC

By: Linda Goldstein, Amy Mudge, Randy Shaheen, Jack Ferry and Matt Renick The Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) announced on Oct. 13 a widespread enforcement action against deceptive endorsement practices. The Commission sent a Notice of Penalty Offenses to more than 700 companies, notifying them that conduct related to fake or misleading endorsements and … Continue Reading

Slaughterhouse-Five: Myth-Busting with the Commissioner at NAD 2021

By Randal M. Shaheen and Matthew Renick on October 8, 2021 Posted in Advertising, Data Privacy, FTC

By Randal Shaheen and Matthew Renick To kick off the final day of the National Advertising Division’s (NAD) 2021 virtual conference last week, FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter gave a keynote address laying out her views on consumer privacy and the digital data economy writ large. Specifically, Commissioner Slaughter sought to bust five myths about privacy … Continue Reading

NDI Letter Shows CBD’s Position Unchanged at FDA

By Randal M. Shaheen and John P. Ferry on August 31, 2021 Posted in Advertising, CBD, FDA

The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) at the federal level, but in the nearly three years since then, little has changed from the perspective of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). From the start, FDA’s regulatory position has been complicated by CBD’s previous approval as the active ingredient in the prescription drug … Continue Reading

Life in Plastic – It’s Fantastic

By Michael Ingram and Amy Ralph Mudge on August 12, 2021 Posted in Advertising

As the world contends with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, activists are sounding the alarm over another pandemic: the plastic pandemic. Environmentalist groups have been warning Americans about our overconsumption of plastic for years, but now states are taking notice and acting. California and Washington state recently enacted legislation establishing a tiered system designed to increase … Continue Reading

Everywhere Commerce: Top Strategies for Mitigating Risk

By Randal M. Shaheen, Amy Ralph Mudge and Linda A. Goldstein on May 27, 2021 Posted in Advertising

Recent changes to our way of living have made it clear just how important it is for marketers and retailers to be thinking about the convergence of brand experience and commerce and redefining how consumers shop and interact with brands online. Join us virtually from 11-3:30 ET on June 15-16 for an opportunity to connect … Continue Reading

Podcast: AD-ttorneys@law: False Advertising or Just Puffing?

By Randal M. Shaheen on January 22, 2021 Posted in Advertising, Podcast

Absolute truth in advertising is something of a rarity, but not every untrue statement is false advertising. In this episode, BakerHostetler partner Randy Shaheen is going to ply you with pointers on avoiding puffery’s promotional pitfalls and potential problems. Questions and Comments: rshaheen@bakerlaw.com Listen to the episode. Subscribe to BakerHosts Apple Podcast | Google Podcast | iHeartRadio | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneIn Download Episode Transcript… Continue Reading

Beware of Dark Patterns

By Randal M. Shaheen and Amy Ralph Mudge on September 18, 2020 Posted in Advertising

Yoda cautioned Luke Skywalker to beware of the Dark Side. In The Golden Compass, we were told to beware of dark materials. For those old enough to remember, the town of Collinsport was told to beware of Barnabas Collins, who lurked in Dark Shadows. And little kids in general are just plain scared of the … Continue Reading

IAB Launches CCPA Benchmark Survey

By Taylor A. Bloom, Kyle R. Fath, Gerald J. Ferguson, Alan L. Friel and Linda A. Goldstein on August 27, 2020 Posted in Advertising, California

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), a leading advertising industry organization, has launched a CCPA Benchmark Survey to assess how companies across the digital advertising ecosystem are approaching CCPA compliance. The survey provides an opportunity for companies to anonymously report on their handling of various CCPA matters, including to provide statistics relating to the number of access, deletion, … Continue Reading

Maryland and Other States Weighing Taxes on Digital Ads

By Gerald J. Ferguson, Edward Bernert and David Ebersole on May 7, 2020 Posted in Advertising

On March 18, the Maryland General Assembly passed the first state gross revenue tax directed at digital advertising, which is broadly defined to encompass any advertising appearing on a website, mobile app or any similar digital platform (House Bill 732). The legislation’s status remains uncertain due to an expected gubernatorial veto and potential legislative override. … Continue Reading

FTC Finally Strikes Gold With Made in USA Enforcement: Williams-Sonoma Agrees To Pay $1 Million in Consumer Redress

By Randal M. Shaheen and Amy Ralph Mudge on April 1, 2020 Posted in Advertising

In the past few months, a minority of the commissioners have called for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) to take the heretofore unprecedented step of seeking consumer redress in Made in USA (MUSA) cases. (In the past such cases only involved money when penalties were imposed for violating an existing order). In a … Continue Reading

COVID-19 Update: FTC and States Combat Scams, Price Gouging and Deceptive Ads

By Linda A. Goldstein and Matthew Renick on March 30, 2020 Posted in Advertising, FTC

We recently blogged about regulatory warning letters and a consumer class action stemming from consumer-facing advertising related to the coronavirus. Today, we write to provide updates on state and federal efforts to protect consumers and a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) press release sounding the alarm on B2B coronavirus scams. State regulators are confronting many of … Continue Reading

It’s a Mixed Salad for the ‘Natural’ and ‘Pure’ Claims for Foods With Trace Pesticides

By Jacqlyn Rovine and Amy Ralph Mudge on March 19, 2020 Posted in Advertising

Can you call your processed food product “natural” or “pure” when it contains a residual amount of an herbicide or pesticide that the manufacturer did not add but was used by a producer in growing an ingredient in the product? Recent cases confirm that such a product can still be called “natural” – at least … Continue Reading

Butt isn’t it just puffery if it is funny?

By Amy Ralph Mudge and Randal M. Shaheen on February 20, 2020 Posted in Advertising

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: NAD does not have a great sense of humor when it comes to false disparagement dressed up in a joke. And it hurts our hearts, as at least one of us really is a tween boy trapped in a middle-aged lady’s body. Yes, farts make Amy … Continue Reading

FTC on Influencers and Consumer Reviews from the NAD Conference

By Matthew Renick on September 27, 2019 Posted in Advertising, FTC

Earlier this week at the National Advertising Division (NAD) annual advertising law conference, Mamie Kresses, a senior attorney in the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Advertising Practices division at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), offered her views on influencers and consumer reviews, two topics near and dear to our hearts. We wanted to share some key … Continue Reading

California’s Law Regulating Online Bots, Effective July 1, 2019

By Alan L. Friel and Zoe Steinberg on June 25, 2019 Posted in Advertising, California

California’s new “bot” law, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17940, et seq. (SB 1001) takes effect on July 1, 2019. This means that any company or individual that uses bots online for solicitations of commercial transactions or to influence a vote in an election should ensure appropriate “clear, conspicuous, and reasonably designated” disclosures are … Continue Reading

Ad and Publishing Industries Confront CCPA Challenges While Congress Considers Privacy

By Alan L. Friel on May 29, 2019 Posted in Advertising, California, Data Privacy

The junior Senator from Missouri, Joshua Hawley (R), has introduced s 1578, which would require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to create and make available a “do not track” (DNT) signal that consumers can associate with their devices and require that online services look for the signal and, when indicated, not collect, use or share … Continue Reading