Does your company use endorsements or testimonials to promote its products or services on its website or in its advertising or marketing materials?  Do you allow customers to post on your social media pages or website?  Are you a blogger who reviews products or services?

When most people hear the words endorsement or testimonial, they likely imagine a celebrity or expert getting paid big bucks to talk about an “amazing” product or service.  And, they would be right.

However, if you answered “yes” to any of the questions above, then you likely need to comply with the Endorsement and Testimonial Guides issued by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”).

Examples of messages that constitute endorsements include a film critic’s review of a movie used in an advertisement for the film, a well-known athlete using a certain brand of sporting equipment in an ad for that brand, and a positive product review posted by a consumer on her personal blog where the consumer received the product free as part of a network marketing program.

The Guides reflect three basic truth-in-advertising principles:

1. Endorsements must be truthful and not misleading;
2. If the advertiser doesn’t have proof that the endorser’s experience represents what consumers will achieve by using the product, the ad must clearly and conspicuously disclose the generally expected results in the depicted circumstances; and
3. If there’s a connection between the endorser and the marketer of the product that would affect how people evaluate the endorsement, it should be disclosed.

In other words, endorsements:

1. Must reflect the honest experience or opinion of the endorser (there are different rules for consumer, celebrity and expert endorsements, as well as for endorsements by organizations);
2. May not contain representations or claims that would be deceptive, or could not be substantiated, if the advertiser made them directly; and
3. Must disclose any material connection between the person endorsing a product or service and the company selling the product or service that might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement (employee, relative, paid, etc. – even small incentives, such as free product for bloggers to sample, must be disclosed).

Although the Guides don’t mandate the specific wording of disclosures, the Guides states that disclosures “must be clear and conspicuous on all devices and platforms that consumers may use to view the ad”…even if there are only 140 characters available for the entire message.  For example, paid spokespeople must disclose that they are sponsored (#sponsored or #ad) or explicitly mention that they are working with the brand/company (e.g., I’m teaming up with [brand/company] to do X) on social media platforms, such as Twitter.

If you are a brand owner, use caution before you follow, friend, like, or engage with a celebrity, third-party trademark or brand. Do not imply that there is an affiliation between the brand/company and the user/celebrity/trademark/etc….especially when such a relationship doesn’t exist. (Most consumers will assume there is a relationship between the brand/company and the user/celebrity/trademark.)

For more information, see the FTC’s FAQs about endorsements and testimonials.