Advertising Law Tool Kit - Tenth Edition | 2022

14 / Venable It’s hard not to notice disclaimers, as they appear virtually everywhere. But it’s also hard to commit to the disclaimer as you struggle to read the fine print or wonder what jargon just briefly flashed across the television screen. While it may seem that some marketers adhere to the adage that “a disclaimer a day keeps enforcement away,” disclaimers are not always the answer to curing what might otherwise be a false or misleading advertising claim. The FTC’s regular enforcement of disclosure rules for national advertising should serve as a warning to advertisers to clean up the fine print. Regulators encourage advertisers to write clearer ad copy rather than rely on disclaimers, and if you do use a disclaimer, make sure it is clear and conspicuous and appears in close proximity to what it is disclaiming, and consider whether it should appear in the same form (verbal or written) as the advertising claim. Attention should also be given to the content of the disclosure to ensure that the disclosure does not contradict or significantly limit the advertising claim. In other words, the disclosure should explain, not change, the advertising claim. Advertising Disclaimers Leonard L. Gordon lgordon@Venable.com +1 212.370.6252