From our base in New York, we represent a diverse range of clients across the country and around the world.

bookmarkprintPDFShare>

The persistent threat of false advertising claims can jeopardize a company’s ability to project its brand, sell its products and expand its market share. Whether brought by competitors, regulators or consumer class action counsel, these claims can deeply impact long-term brand viability.

Our lawyers are known for both pressing these claims and defending them. From major household names to disruptive startups, we represent advertisers in all product categories and across all media platforms — traditional and online.

Competitive Challenges

Over decades at the forefront of advertising law, we have honed our ability to handle high-profile claims of false or misleading advertising. While we have vast experience with federal court Lanham Act cases, competitor disputes are often resolved through the industry’s self-regulatory body, the National Advertising Division. In either forum, we bring keen insight and deep knowledge to the legal issues surrounding advertising claims.

Consumer Class Actions

As the plaintiffs’ bar aggressively pursues large, potentially ruinous class actions against advertisers and marketers, our clients rely on us to fight back. We counter plaintiffs’ tactics with a superior knowledge of advertising law, and with the specific industry knowledge they invariably lack. Accordingly, we excel at resolving these actions with minimal financial or reputational damage.

Challenge Avoidance

Rigorously vetting advertising claims is a key step in avoiding or minimizing expensive disputes. We help clients review marketing materials and establish processes that guide the formulation and substantiation of claims. Especially in newer categories, where emerging technologies often outpace regulation, the best practices we advise are both time-tested and widely emulated.

Regulatory Actions

When a federal, state or local government body raises consumer protection issues, we help clients navigate and defend all manner of investigations and enforcement actions — from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to state attorneys general to local and county-level agencies. We are thoroughly versed in the advertising rules of all 50 states and have handled regulatory challenges in both individual state and multistate actions. We make sure our clients are well aware of differing regulatory rules — even before creative work begins — in order to build good compliance practices directly into their processes and ensure defensibility of the work.

Representative Experience

  • Represented a multinational consumer health company in an advertising challenge brought before the NAD by a major consumer goods company, regarding the client's dietary supplement product. Achieved victory for our client by demonstrating that the core product efficacy claims were fully substantiated.

  • Represented an online retailer on luxury bedding and related products in a threatened consumer class action over the type and origin of the materials. This included challenges to the advertising, packaging, and labeling of consumer goods and textile fiber products, such as “bamboo” products. Resolved the matter to allow the company to market and sell its products in a commercially competitive and uninterrupted manner.

  • Defended a global electronics company before the National Advertising Division (NAD) in a challenge to one of its category-busting products over alleged unsubstantiated product performance claims and environmental/Green marketing claims.

  • Won a critical appeal to the NARB (National Advertising Review Board) for a leading skin care brand of a global cosmetic company. The case represented a fundamental attack on the methodology of performance testing in the broader cosmetic category which, if unchanged, would have dramatically increased both the costs and complexity of consumer testing.

  • Represented a multinational video game and digital entertainment company in a seminal case before the FTC focused on the advertising of a new portable video game player and its interplay with third-party software video games. The case involved statements that pushed the boundary of what constitutes a real claim and the question of whether advertising agency employees must disclose their material connection to the agency and its client when they promote a client's products on social media.

  • Defended a multinational automobile manufacturer in an action brought by the FTC over the use of demonstrations, claims versus puffery or "reasonable person," adequacy of disclosures, and substantiation or "reasonable basis." Not just a warning to the entire industry, this is the first automotive demonstration case brought by the FTC since the Volvo case, which builds on the foundational principles espoused in the Campbell’s Soup marbles and Rapid Shave sandpaper cases.

Key Contacts

Meet The Team