Rosewood The Foamy Spot Analysis
I would argue that the advertisement “The Foamy Spot” by Rosewood violates the FTC’s standard on deceptive advertising. A number of rules and suggestions laid out in the FTC Deception Policy Statement and the FTC Policy Statement Regarding Advertising Substantiation Program back up my claim. First off, the FTC Deception Policy Statement says that the Commission declares “unfair or deceptive acts or practices,” such as the ones laid out by Rosewood in this commercial, as unlawful, and “prohibits false ads likely to induce the purchase of food, drugs, devices or cosmetics.” Rosewood makes their consumers believe the Highlites brand of shampoo lathers better than the “ordinary shampoo” with this commercial, when in fact the second test wasn’t
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Additionally, the FTC’s policy on deceptive advertising says that the deceptive practice must be material, meaning it would influence consumer’s purchasing decisions. This commercial is found to be material because their claims – including statements saying their product produces a “thicker, richer lather than ordinary shampoos for longer, deeper cleaning” – would make consumers want to buy their product, thus influencing their purchasing …show more content…
The FTC Policy Statement says that advertisers must be prepared to substantiate claims with competent, reliable scientific evidence, and that the Commission plans to continue legal requirements enforcing advertisers to substantiate “express and implied claims, however conveyed, that make objective assertions about the item or service advertised.” The express claim in this commercial, which tells consumers that Highlites is a better brand of shampoo and lathers better than other brands, is obviously false. Because the test was not completed with a true “other brand” of shampoo, Rosewood has no substantiation to their claim. They cannot back up the claim because there was no accurate test, and the FTC statement says that a firm’s failure to possess a reasonable basis for objective claims “constitutes [as] an unfair and deceptive act or practice in violation of section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission
Additionally, the FTC’s policy on deceptive advertising says that the deceptive practice must be material, meaning it would influence consumer’s purchasing decisions. This commercial is found to be material because their claims – including statements saying their product produces a “thicker, richer lather than ordinary shampoos for longer, deeper cleaning” – would make consumers want to buy their product, thus influencing their purchasing …show more content…
The FTC Policy Statement says that advertisers must be prepared to substantiate claims with competent, reliable scientific evidence, and that the Commission plans to continue legal requirements enforcing advertisers to substantiate “express and implied claims, however conveyed, that make objective assertions about the item or service advertised.” The express claim in this commercial, which tells consumers that Highlites is a better brand of shampoo and lathers better than other brands, is obviously false. Because the test was not completed with a true “other brand” of shampoo, Rosewood has no substantiation to their claim. They cannot back up the claim because there was no accurate test, and the FTC statement says that a firm’s failure to possess a reasonable basis for objective claims “constitutes [as] an unfair and deceptive act or practice in violation of section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission