| The Federal Trade Commission Act requires advertisers to disclose qualifying information in an advertisement when an express or implied claim in the ad would be misleading without the qualifying information. The disclosure requirement applies to ads that appear on the Internet.
All required disclosures must be clear and conspicuous. In order to make disclosures clear and conspicuous, the Federal Trade Commission recommends that advertisers:
* place disclosures near, and when possible, on the same screen as the triggering claim;
* use text and visual cues to encourage consumers to scroll down a page when it is necessary to view the disclosure;
* when using hyperlinks to lead to disclosures:
(1) make the link obvious;
(2) label the hyperlink appropriately to convey the importance, nature, and relevance of the information to which it leads;
(3) use hyperlink styles consistently so that consumers know when a link is available;
(4) place the hyperlink near relevant information and make it noticeable;
(5) take consumers directly to the disclosure on the click-through page; and
(6) assess the effectiveness of the hyperlink by monitoring click-through rates, and make changes accordingly.
* recognize and respond to any technological limitations or unique characteristics of high-tech methods of making disclosures, such as frames or pop-ups;
* display the disclosure prior to purchase, but recognize that placement limited only to the order page may not always work;
* creatively incorporate disclosures in banner ads or disclose them clearly and conspicuously on the page to which the banner ad links;
* prominently display disclosures so that they are noticeable to consumers, and evaluate the size, color, and graphic treatment of the disclosure in relation to other parts of the page;
* review the entire ad to ensure that other elements, such as text, graphics, hyperlinks, or sound, do not distract consumers' attention from the disclosure;
* repeat disclosures, as needed, on lengthy websites and in connection with repeated claims;
* use audio disclosures when making audio claims, and present them in a volume and cadence so that consumers can hear and understand them;
* display visual disclosures for a duration sufficient for consumers to notice, read, and understand them; and
* use clear language and syntax so that consumers understand the disclosure. Copyright 2010 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. |