[Harp-L] Celebrity Endorsements and the FTC

[Rick Davis <bluesharpamps@xxxxxxxxx>]

The Federal Trade Commission has issued guidelines concerning the use of
endorsements and testimonials in advertising. You can read the guidelines
here:  http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf

Here are the bullet points that might be of interest:

-Vendors are subject to liability for failing to disclose material
connections between themselves and their endorsers.  If the endorser
received a discount from the Vendor-- such as a free or reduced-price
product -- this MUST be disclosed in any advertising, including claims made
on websites.

-It is the burden of the Vendor to make sure any claims made by endorsers
are true and current.  If an endorser claims or implies that he uses the
vendors product exclusively, for example, the Vendor is subject to liability
if he uses that endorsement in an advertisement and it is not true.

-A Vendor may use an endorsement of a celebrity only so long as it has good
reason to believe that the endorser continues to subscribe to the views
presented.

I know for certain that some vendors give hefty discounts to endorsers
because I've discussed it with them.  Yet they do not reveal this material
relationship as required by the FTC.  They sometimes continue to claim
endorsements that are stale and no longer true.

This is important to the harmonica community for several reasons:  The
endorsement game can be misleading to people shopping for harmonica gear,
such as microphones and amplifiers.

-- 
-Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
http://www.bluesharpamps.blogspot.com/