On June 29, 2023, the FTC released the long-awaited updates to the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising – more commonly known as the Endorsement Guides – along with an updated FAQ entitled What People Are Asking. We summarized some of the key changes in our post the same day.
The Guides and the FAQ both cover a lot of ground, but people who work with influencers may know them best for the ground rules they establish for influencer campaigns, including the requirement that influencers clearly disclose any connections to the companies they endorse. Although that requirement may not be controversial, reasonable minds can disagree about how to comply, and many questions that attorneys who practice in this space get on a regular basis don’t have clear answers. The FTC’s updates address some of those questions, but many marketers won’t like the answers.
In this article for Law360, I highlight some of the most significant updates to the Guides and FAQs that will impact influencer campaigns, including what the FTC thinks about when a disclosure is required, how a disclosure should be presented, and how companies should manage influencer campaigns.