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Part Seven Special Topics and Perspectives
Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
Figure 21-2 AAAA policy
statement and guidelines
for comparative advertising
VII. Special Topics and
Perspectives
21. Regulation of
Advertising and Promotion
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
The National Advertising Review Council, working through the NAD/NARB and
CARU, has become a valuable and effective self-regulatory body. Cases brought to it
are handled at a fraction of the cost (and with much less publicity) than those brought
to court and are expedited more quickly than those reviewed by a government agency
such as the FTC. The system also works because judgments are made by the advertiser’s
peers, and most companies feel compelled to comply. Firms may prefer selfregulation
rather than government intervention in part because they can challenge
competitors’ unsubstantiated claims through groups like the NARB. 20
Advertising Associations Various groups in the advertising industry also
favor self-regulation. The two major national organizations, the American Association
of Advertising Agencies and the American Advertising Federation, actively monitor
and police industry wide advertising practices. The AAAA, which is the major trade
association of the ad agency business in the United States, has established standards of
practice and its own creative code. It also issues guidelines for specific types of advertising
such as comparative messages (Figure 21-2). The AAF consists of advertisers,
agencies, media, and numerous advertising clubs. The association has standards for
truthful and responsible advertising, is involved in advertising legislation, and actively
influences agencies to abide by its code and principles.
Self-Regulation by Media
The media are another important self-regulatory mechanism in the advertising industry.
Most media maintain some form of advertising review process and, except for
The Board of Directors of the American Association of Advertising Agencies recognizes
that when used truthfully and fairly, comparative advertising provides the consumer
with needed and useful information.
However, extreme caution should be exercised. The use of comparative advertising, by
its very nature, can distort facts and, by implication, convey to the consumer
information that misrepresents the truth.
Therefore, the Board believes that comparative advertising should follow certain
guidelines:
1. The intent and connotation of the ad should be to inform and never to discredit or
unfairly attack competitors, competing products, or services.
2. When a competitive product is named, it should be one that exists in the
marketplace as significant competition.
3. The competition should be fairly and properly identified but never in a manner or
tone of voice that degrades the competitive product or service.
4. The advertising should compare related or similar properties or ingredients of the
product, dimension to dimension, feature to feature.
5. The identification should be for honest comparison purposes and not simply to
upgrade by association.
6. If a competitive test is conducted, it should be done by an objective testing source,
preferably an independent one, so that there will be no doubt as to the veracity of
the test.
7. In all cases the test should be supportive of all claims made in the advertising that
are based on the test.
8. The advertising should never use partial results or stress insignificant differences to
cause the consumer to draw an improper conclusion.
9. The property being compared should be significant in terms of value or usefulness
of the product to the consumer.
10. Comparatives delivered through the use of testimonials should not imply that the
testimonial is more than one individual’s thought unless that individual represents a
sample of the majority viewpoint.