Endorsement & Testimonial Guidelines
On December 1st, 2009 new regulations from the Federal Trade Commission went into place regarding the use of endorsements and testimonials - primarily geared towards affiliate marketers promoting rebill products. EWA would like to explain to you how these rules and regulations will effect your business online. Please note: we are not lawyers nor internet cops, this is just breaking down 60 pages into simple bulleted terms the way we interpret it.
The Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising address all endorsements regardless of whether they originate from consumers, celebrities, groups or organizations. The guidelines state that:
- Endorsements must reflect the honest opinions and true experience of the endorser. If paid actors are used, this fact must be disclosed.
- Endorsements may not contain any representations which would be deceptive, or could not be substantiated, if made directly by the advertiser.
- Endorsements must be representative of what consumers can reasonably expect to achieve. Any claim made by the endorser must reflect the opinion or experience of a significant proportion of consumers.
- Disclaimers like "results not typical" are no longer sufficient.
- All material connections between the advertiser and the endorser (including research or medical organizations) that consumers would not expect must be disclosed, including free products or monetary compensation.
With the new restrictions in place it will likely lead to enforcement from the FTC. EWA cannot review or give further advice on landing pages used by our affiliates to promote products. Use of celebrities or copyrighted images must have written permission from the owners of those images or content.
