Ads can promote unhealthy and biased ads can be

- Ads can promote unhealthy and biased
- Ads can be offensive stereotypes
Social Responsibility: Doing what society views as best for the welfare of people in
general or for a specific community of people
Ethical: Doing what’s right in a given situation, brands can share powerful messages
“Black Lives Matter”
GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS
Regulations that Impact Advertising:
- Local: city, county, state
- National: federal
- International: country laws

International Advertiser Considerations:
- Commercial speech regulations in each country
- Privacy protection requirements in Europe
- Is puffery legal in this country?
- Can sales, coupons, etc. be advertised year-round?
- Language translation issues
U.S. Government Regulations: Advertising
Freedom of “Commercial” Speech:
- The U.S. Supreme Court distinguished between "speech" and "commercial
speech" in the 1942 case: Valentine vs. Chrestensen
- Chrestensen wanted to distribute playbills in NYC and was stopped by
police for littering
- He argued he had a right to advertise due to free speech
- Court argued this was "purely commercial speech" and should not be
afforded the same First Amendment protections
- Commercial speech doesn't receive the same level of protection as
political/personal speech
- 4-Part Central Hudson Test : used to determine if commercial speech should be
regulated
1. Does speech concern a lawful activity?
2. Will the restriction serve a government interest?
3. Does the regulation advance the government interest?
4. Is the restriction no more than necessary?
Additional Advertising Issues:
- Tobacco: traditional and e-cigarettes
- Advertising to children
- Consumer privacy
- Protecting consumer data
Issues of Advertising to Children:
- Children are very impressionable and can be easily misled by ads Kids can
develop unrealistic expectations
- To promote safe advertising to children, professional organizations help monitor
and enforce rules:
- Better Business Bureau (BBB)
- Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU

FTC (Federal Trade Commision):
- Major regulator of advertising in the U.S. that was established by Congress
- Enforces laws and regulations to fight against unfair and deceptive practices
- Food and Drug Administration regulates food advertising
Deceptive Advertising: contains an omission, representation or practice that's likely to
confuse the consumer
Unfair Advertising: consumer is injured due to lack of complete information or some
other externality
Comparative Advertising: Ads that claim superiority over competitors These ads are
legal as long as they're truthful and not unfair or deceptive. Ex: Verizon vs. AT&T
How the FTC Investigates Suspected Violations (What they look for):
- Substantiation: evidence that backs up claims in ads (ex. survey results, studies)
- Endorsements or Testimonials: person must use product and if paid to promote,
must be disclosed #ad #sponsored
- Affirmative Disclosure: advertisers must disclose the product's limitations or
deficiencies
Remedies for Unfair or Deceptive Advertising:
- Consent Decree: document advertisers sign, without admitting wrongdoing, in
which they agree to stop objectionable advertising
- Cease and Desist Order: used if consent decree is refused...prohibits further use
of the ads and sets future fines
- Corrective Advertising: creating a new ad to correct the old
FDA: Food and Drug Administration Federal agency that oversees the labeling,
packaging, and branding of packaged goods and therapeutic devices