In the US, advertisers don't have to submit their ads to any agency or organization seeking for approval before publicizing it. It means that they operate at their own discretion while creating their ads, but after consumers have seen them, advertisers can be held accountable for breaking the law. In this system, consumers need to be aware of the laws, often being the one's that file a complaint to have misleading or unethical ads removed.
Source: "Made You Look - How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know", by Shari Graydon
Illustrations by Warren Clark
As listed on the book "Made You Look - How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know", by Shari Graydon, here are some of the rules that regulates american ads when it comes to kids and teens as consumers:
1) Exaggerations are not allowed when it comes to what the ad says and shows about the products they are trying to sell. Meaning, special effects can't be used to enhance the products qualities.
2) Every ad has to be suitable for its target audience. One can't promote products to young kids that can be used only by teens or adults.
3) You can state where kids and teens can find an specific product, but you can't give an imperative order like "buy now" or "get your parents to buy it for you".
4) Ads are not supposed to tell kids their parents will be cooler if they bought their product, or imply that they are mean because they don't.
5) Well known kids entertainers and characters cannot be used to demonstrate a product unless the same company created that character for publicity purposes.
6) Don't associate possessing the product with being cooler, stronger, smarter and, by default, not having it by being unpopular.
9) Social stereotypes shouldn't be portrayed in ads to encourage kids to feel prejudiced against a certain group or kind of person. Advertisers are actually supposed to include kids of all ethnic groups and abilities, being as diverse as the world can be.
10) Urgency and deals cannot be used as bait to convince kids they need to buy products. Words and expressions like "now", "rush down", "bargain price" or "only $2 dollars" cannot be used.
11) False expectations cannot be created about the chances teens and kids have of wining giveaway prizes. The real likelihood of somebody wining the prize needs to be stated in the ad.
12) Lastly, the newness of a product cannot be used as a reason to buy it for more than one year. If the product already exists for a year, it's not new anymore. Also, agencies shouldn't try to convince kids that last year's toy is no longer good now that there's a new product available. As a result, using words as "new" or "introducing" is something that is not allowed.
If you have seen any ads that you feel doesn't follow one of these rules, you should take note of when and where you saw the deceptive ad and what it claimed. After gathering all this information, you should write a formal complaint stating your reasons to believe that ad should be removed.
People can file complaints by phone, but written complaints sent by mail or email seem to gather more attention from advertisers. You can send your complaint to the FTC.
Federal Trade Commission
Bureau of Consumer Protection
600 Pensilvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580
Website: www.ftc.gov
Often times, sending your complaint to the company might be a better approach. Ultimately, the company is the one interested in making the changes necessary on their ad. It's not in their best interest to keep a TV ad running if it's actually offending people it's targeted at. In addition, companies know that if they received 4 letters complaining about the same ad, the chances of a bigger crowd being upset for the same reasons is huge.
You can make a diference, just speak up!
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