False Advertising...

"Lost 100 Pounds in 2 Weeks!"

"Win $10 Million Dollars For Your Fall!" 

"Head On! Apply Directly To Your Forehead"

False or misleading advertising is a well-known underbelly of the marketing industry.  Companies will sometimes inadvertently, and occasionally purposely, try to mislead consumers in an attempt to make money on their naivety.

Check out this Mental Floss article for a list of 6 examples of Shameless False Advertising by companies.

Mobile Advertising Guidelines

As current media evolve and new mediums emerge, marketers must adapt their marketing efforts to comply with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Recently, the FTC released updated guidelines for mobile and online advertisers to help make clear disclosures to consumers. The previous guideline had been released in 2000 (emphasis mine!) This guideline was before the iPhone, Twitter or even Facebook!

Based on findings from eMarketer, these updated guidelines are long overdue. Notice the previous and forecasted growth of mobile/digital ad spending.  As the industry grows and more companies move to the digital domain of advertising, there invariably will be companies who take advantage by unclear/false/misleading advertisements.

The FTC’s guidelines regarding disclosures can be simplified to fit three key factors – Proximity & Placement, Prominence and Clarity.

Proximity & Placement

“A disclosure is more effective if it is placed near the claim it qualifies or other relevant information. Proximity increases the likelihood that consumers will see the disclosure and relate it to the relevant claim or product.”

Here is an example of a proper proximity for a disclosure. This screen cap for Farmville 2 shows the disclosure close to where you purchase more “Farm Bucks.” The further a disclosure is located from the connecting text/ad, the weaker a connection people will make between the two.

Prominence

“It is the advertiser’s responsibility to draw attention to the required disclosures.”

Using the previous example to illustrate disclosure prominence, you’ll see that while the proximity is close to where the purchasing happens, I would argue that Farmville 2 does the very least it needs to when it comes to prominence. They are using black 12-point font and a lavender background. Considering the coloring and font size used for everything else on the page, this is definitely not as prominent as should be.

Clarity

Disclosures must be clear and not cluttered by other ads or media. The disclosure example is free from other extraneous text or ads. This is also a very simple disclosure, so only a one-time placement is needed. If it were a more complicated message, Zynga would need to repeat the message until they satisfied the expectation for the message to be understood or simply it enough while maintaining the integrity of the message.

Companies must hit all three of these key points to ensure they have clear and un-misleading advertising. This is, of course, in their best interest. Producing misleading content is an easy way to build consumer animosity and invite Better Business Bureau litigation. Just ask these companies about false advertising.