On October 3, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it entered into a $1.26 million settlement with Kim Kardashian over her social media promotion of the EMAX token without disclosing payment she received from token issuer, EthereumMax. The matter provides important lessons for advertisers. Read more.
October 10, 2022
California recently amended its Automatic Purchase Renewals law. The amended statute - effective July 1st -- require marketers to provide consumers of automatic renewal or continuous service offers with more information and easier ways to terminate. Read more.
June 22, 2018
In 2016, California amended Section 17533.7 of the California Business and Professions Code ("Section 17533"), liberalizing the standard for selling products labeled "Made in U.S.A" to California consumers. Read more.
June 4, 2018
The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") and the State of Maine have announced a $2 million dollar settlement with ad agency Marketing Architects, Inc. ("MAI") for deceptive weight-loss claims. Read more.
February 12, 2018
We are pleased to share with you the news that we have just launched the Frankfurt Kurnit Advertising Law Blog. Read more.
January 27, 2018
The FTC has long stated that consumers should be able to recognize an ad as an ad. And if disclosures are necessary to ensure that consumers will recognize that an ad is an ad, then those disclosures must be made in a way that ensures that consumers can understand them. Read more.
January 5, 2018
Advertisers and agencies that are signatories to the SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contract can now take advantage of a new waiver issued by SAG-AFTRA and the Joint Policy Committee on Broadcast Talent Union Relations when producing low-budget digital commercials. Read more.
November 10, 2017
Recent developments demonstrate the FTC's continued interest in social media endorsements. Read more.
September 11, 2017
Recently, the FTC announced a set of internal reforms intended to improve the process by which the Commission investigates unfair, deceptive and fraudulent business practices. The reforms relate to the Civil Investigative Demands ("CID") that the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection issues to request information from investigation targets. Read more.
September 7, 2017
Last week Frankfurt Kurnit's Advertising Group proudly hosted "A Twenty-Year NAD Retrospective: The Levine Legacy," an ABA program honoring Andrea Levine, on the occasion of her retirement as Director of NAD. With NAD transitioning to new (as yet unnamed) leadership, we thought it would be a good time to review some of the best practices that guide NAD practitioners every day. Read more.
July 10, 2017
The FTC staff recently sent out more than 90 letters reminding influencers and marketers that influencers should clearly and conspicuously disclose their relationship to brands when promoting or endorsing products through social media. Read more.
May 30, 2017
Last week, the apparel company Sunny Co Clothing launched an Instagram promotion promising to give away the red swimsuit below for free (except for shipping and handling costs) to each person who reposted the photo and tagged the company. Unfortunately, the company failed to cap the number of participants or make clear this was a "limited supply" offer, instead promising the free suit to "EVERYONE" who complied with the giveaway terms. Read more.
May 10, 2017
The FTC staff recently sent out more than 90 letters reminding influencers and marketers that influencers should clearly and conspicuously disclose their relationship to brands when promoting or endorsing products through social media. Read more.
April 21, 2017
Late last year, Congress passed the Consumer Review Protection Act, a law designed to stop businesses from using contracts to prevent customers from posting honest reviews about the business. Read more.
March 8, 2017
The FTC has issued a Final Order against California Naturel, Inc., a seller and marketer of personal care products, finding that the company's "all natural" claims were false and misleading in violation of the FTC Act. Read more.
December 15, 2016
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission issued its new "Enforcement Policy Statement on Marketing Claims for Over-the-Counter (OTC) Homeopathic Drugs," as well as a staff report on a workshop that the Commission held last year on OTC homeopathic drug advertising. Read more.
November 28, 2016
How effective are your consumer disclosures? A recent FTC workshop suggests it's a good time to ask. Here's a summary of what happened. Read more.
September 26, 2016
Doing a reward program? Be very clear about the rules. Read more.
August 29, 2016
While millions of fantasy sports aficionados pumped their fists on the news that New York State had legalized Interactive Fantasy Sports ("IFS"), a quieter debate began taking place in marketing and advertising circles. Read more.
August 9, 2016
Food advertising rules are in flux, and we have written about the FTC's recent focus on "natural" claims. Here are two more food advertising developments. Read more.
June 10, 2016
The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") announced last week its plan to host a public workshop on September 15, 2016 called "Putting Disclosures to the Test." Read more.
May 31, 2016
A surge of recent lawsuits brought under a 30 year-old New Jersey consumer protection law has national marketers and their lawyers huddling. Here's a summary of how the law works and why there's exposure for marketers everywhere. Read more.
May 20, 2016
The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") joined the widely publicized "natural" products debate by issuing four settlements and bringing a new complaint relating to misleading "all natural" or "100% natural" advertising claims. Read more.
April 13, 2016
On Monday DraftKings, Inc. and FanDuel, Inc., the two largest providers of Daily Fantasy Sports ("DFS") in the US, announced an agreement with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (the "NYAG") in connection with the ongoing DFS litigation. Read more.
March 23, 2016
Less than three months after issuing guidance to marketers on native advertising, the FTC has brought and settled its first native advertising case against national retailer Lord & Taylor. Read more.
March 15, 2016
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