[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 16, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 16CFR255.1]

[Page 174-175]
 
                     TITLE 16--COMMERCIAL PRACTICES
 
                   CHAPTER I--FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
 
PART 255_GUIDES CONCERNING USE OF ENDORSEMENTS AND TESTIMONIALS IN 
ADVERTISING--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 255.1  General considerations.

    (a) Endorsements must always reflect the honest opinions, findings, 
beliefs, or experience of the endorser. Furthermore, they may not 
contain any representations which would be deceptive, or could not be 
substantiated if made directly by the advertiser. [See Example 2 to 
Guide 3 (Sec. 255.3) illustrating that a valid endorsement may 
constitute all or part of an advertiser's substantiation.]
    (b) The endorsement message need not be phrased in the exact words 
of the endorser, unless the advertisement affirmatively so represents. 
However, the endorsement may neither be presented out of context nor 
reworded so as to distort in any way the endorser's opinion or 
experience with the product. An advertiser may use an endorsement of an 
expert or celebrity only as long as it has good reason to believe that 
the endorser continues to subscribe to the views presented. An 
advertiser may satisfy this obligation by securing the

[[Page 175]]

endorser's views at reasonable intervals where reasonableness will be 
determined by such factors as new information on the performance or 
effectiveness of the product, a material alteration in the product, 
changes in the performance of competitors' products, and the 
advertiser's contract commitments.
    (c) In particular, where the advertisement represents that the 
endorser uses the endorsed product, then the endorser must have been a 
bona fide user of it at the time the endorsement was given, 
Additionally, the advertiser may continue to run the advertisement only 
so long as he has good reason to believe that the endorser remains a 
bona fide user of the product. [See Sec. 255.1(b) regarding the ``good 
reason to believe'' requirement.]

    Guide 1, Example 1: A building contractor states in an advertisement 
that he specifies the advertiser's exterior house paint because of its 
remarkable quick drying properties and its durability. This endorsement 
must comply with the pertinent requirements of Guide 3. Subsequently, 
the advertiser reformulates its paint to enable it to cover exterior 
surfaces with only one coat. Prior to continued use of the contractor's 
endorsement, the advertiser must contact the contractor in order to 
determine whether the contractor would continue to specify the paint and 
to subscribe to the views presented previously.
    Example 2: A television advertisment portrays a woman seated at a 
desk on which rest five unmarked electric typewriters. An announcer says 
``We asked Mrs. X, an executive secretary for over ten years, to try 
these five unmarked typewriters and tell us which one she liked best.''
    The advertisement portrays the secretary typing on each machine, and 
then picking the advertiser's brand. The announcer asks her why, and 
Mrs. X gives her reasons. Assuming that consumers would perceive this 
presentation as a ``blind'' test, this endorsement would probably not 
represent that Mrs. X actually uses the advertiser's machines in her 
work. In addition, the endorsement may also be required to meet the 
standards of Guide 3 on Expert Endorsements.


[Guide 1]

[45 FR 3872, Jan. 18, 1980]