An independent ad-industry watchdog is recommending that T-Mobile stop making claims that its 4G LTE network is the fastest, or that its network is “newer” than Verizon. [More]
national advertising division
Just Because Your Electric Toothbrush Makes A Lot Of Noise Doesn’t Mean It’s Effective
By 4.26.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Much like the never-ending game of oneupmanship in the razor industry, makers of toothbrushes are constantly touting unique features that promise to make your teeth that much whiter and brighter than the competition. But now one ad industry watchdog is calling foul on a commercial that implies a noisy toothbrush is somehow more effective at cleaning your chompers. [More]
Comcast To Discontinue Some Ads That Take Aim At DirecTV
By 4.4.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Seven months after Comcast was warned by an ad watchdog to check itself before wrecking itself when it came to badmouthing DirectTV, the same organization has recommended that the cable behemoth discontinue ads that allegedly exaggerate its rival’s problem with satellite signal interruptions. [More]
Wegmans Changes Price-Comparison Signs After Costco Complaint
By 2.27.17
Price-comparison ads at Wegmans will soon be getting a bit of a makeover following an ad watchdog’s suggestion that the grocer modify in-store displays in response to a Costco complaint that the low-cost price comparisons were misleading and false. [More]
Ad Watchdog Warns Comcast & Dish To Use Caution When Dissing DirecTV
By 9.22.16
Pay-TV services might need to be a bit more careful when it comes to the messages they put out into the universe following an ad watchdog’s suggestion that Comcast and Dish revise some of the claims made against competitors in national ads.
Ad Watchdog: Sprint Should Clarify What ‘50% Off Your Bill’ Really Means
By 6.3.16
The National Ad Division is a program of the Council of Better Business Bureaus that investigates claims of misleading or otherwise problematic ads. Complaints typically come from an advertiser’s competition, and recently T-Mobile spoke up about Sprint’s marketing that promises to cut customers’ bills in half, or give them 50% off. The watchdog agreed that the claim made in ads is not, strictly speaking, true. [More]
Ad Watchdog Intervenes In Dispute Between Campbell’s And Progresso Over Local NJ Ingredients
By 4.6.16
Does Progresso soup come from an agrarian paradise where all of the ingredients are locally harvested and lovingly stirred into small batches of fresh, tasty soup? Not really, no, except for the “tasty” part. Progresso, owned by General Mills, has a series of ads airing that feature this faux-farmer’s market back story, and their national canned soup competitor Campbell’s isn’t buying this back story. Campbell’s took their issue with the spot to the ad industry’s self-regulation mechanism to sort out their differences. [More]
Dairy Crisis Averted: Advertising Group Weighs In On String Cheese War
By 12.17.15
When there’s a cheese war raging, who’re you gonna call to settle things? If it’s a fight over whether or not a product is being incorrectly advertised, The National Advertising Division (an offshoot of the Council of Better Business Bureaus) often weighs in. This time, it’s addressing a string cheese dispute between two different companies, in the hopes that we can all just relax and enjoy some cheese. [More]
Ad Watchdog Recommends DirecTV Cease 4K Claims
By 12.9.15
AT&T may already be killing off the DirecTV name, but that doesn’t mean its recently acquired pay-TV brand doesn’t have to answer for its possibly misleading advertisements. As such, a national ad review board has directed the company – at the behest of Charter Communications – to discontinue claims made in its “Hannah and Her Horse” campaign that suggests all of its programming is available via 4K technology. [More]
Regulators Won’t Investigate Claims That Walmart’s “Raise In Pay” Commercial Is Misleading
By 9.22.15
Federal regulators won’t investigate a Walmart television advertisement two months after an ad review board found the retailer might have misled TV viewers about recent changes in pay for Walmart workers. [More]
Appeals Panel Hands Second Loss To DirecTV Over Rob Lowe Ads
By 8.14.15
Four months after an ad review board, acting on a complaint from Comcast, recommended DirecTV pull its quirky promotions featuring Rob Lowe and a parade of peculiar alter-egos, a review panel upheld the original findings that some of the spots contain unsubstantiated claims — despite the fact the ads are “very funny.” [More]
Cablevision Sues Verizon Over FiOS Ads, Claims Verizon’s Touted All-Fiber Network Actually Isn’t
By 5.20.15
Most of the country doesn’t have much competition for broadband services. But in some of New York City’s boroughs, particularly Brooklyn and the Bronx, Cablevision and Verizon FiOS fight head to head for residential customers. The battle between the two is often ugly, and with a new lawsuit filed yesterday, it just got uglier. [More]
Following Complaint From Comcast, Ad Board Recommends DirecTV Discontinue Rob Lowe Ads
By 4.7.15
If you’ve been near a TV in the last six months (and don’t fast forward through every commercial break), then you’ve likely seen the quirky DirecTV ads featuring Rob Lowe and a parade of kooky alter-egos. How much longer you’ll see those spots is up for debate after an ad review board, acting on a complaint from Comcast, found many of DirecTV’s claims to be unsubstantiated and recommended the company pull the promotions. [More]
Ad Watchdog Group To Comcast: Stop Saying Stuff That Isn’t True In Your Ads
By 1.28.15
Comcast, like every other company on earth, likes to advertise about how great they are. They run commercials all over about how their internet is better, faster, stronger than the next guy’s. Except, a business group that checks in on badvertising says, Comcast isn’t really as great as Comcast claims it is, and needs to tone it down a bit. [More]
Procter & Gamble Will Stop Hating On Brooms So Much In Ads
By 1.14.15
The pitch for Procter & Gamble’s Swiffer floor-cleaning products is that they’re easier to use and more effective than brooms and mops. That may be the case, but a competitor has some issues with current Swiffer ads bragging that the brand’s sweepers are [up to] three times more effective than a broom at picking up dirt, dust, and hair. That competitor: a broom company. [More]
