When an advertiser makes a comparison against a category of products, it must generally substantiate the claim against 85% of the products in that category. It’s common for advertisers to narrow down a category in order to...more
Barry M. Benjamin, managing partner of the New York office and chair of Kilpatrick’s Advertising and Marketing group, was honored to host a panel at the ANA’s 2024 Masters of Advertising Law Conference, titled "Claim...more
Gordon Ramsay is a celebrity chef, perhaps best known for his fiery temper and the harsh criticism he levels at contestants on his cooking shows. If Ramsay judges that food isn’t cooked properly, that the texture is off, or...more
Barry M. Benjamin, managing partner of the New York office and chair of Kilpatrick’s Advertising and Marketing group, was honored to participate recently on a panel at the BBB National Program’s National Advertising...more
In 2023, the Federal Court of Canada released its decision in Energizer Brands, LLC and Energizer Canada Inc. v. Gillette Company (2023 FC 804). The decision clarifies some of the laws applicable to comparative advertising in...more
Nelson Mullins invites you to join hosts John Heitmann and Joshua Guyan as they welcome Kelly Whitehart who will provide our communications, internet, and technology clients an overview of advertising and marketing issues...more
Royal Oak sells Super Size charcoal briquets that are 50% bigger than the briquets sold by certain competitors. Royal Oak advertises that “a bigger briquet is a better briquet” and that the briquets provide “the best...more
Earlier this year, Coca-Cola reformulated its Powerade beverage to include more electrolytes. In some ads, it boasted that the beverage now contained “50% more electrolytes vs. Gatorade Thirst Quencher.” One social media...more
NAD recently issued a decision in a challenge that Bath & Body Works (or “B&BW”) brought against Goose Creek that touches upon a number of common issues advertisers face. The decision covers a lot of ground, and yesterday we...more
NAD recently issued a decision in a challenge that Bath & Body Works (or “B&BW”) brought against Goose Creek that touches upon a number of common issues advertisers face. Although the decision covers a lot of ground – B&BW...more
Google recently ran two commercials for its YouTube TV service, each of which ended with the following tagline: “More than cable. For $600 less than cable.” A disclosure at the bottom of the screen explained: “Annual average...more
Section 22 of the Canadian Trademarks Act prohibits the use of a registered trademark “in a manner that is likely to have the effect of depreciating the value of the goodwill attaching thereto”....more
Environmental marketing claims often present something of a Catch-22—companies that are doing actual good for the environment deserve to reap the benefits of their efforts, and consumers deserve to know, while at the same...more
If a review site ranks your product as the top in a category, can you advertise that you’re “number 1” in that category? The answer may not be as simple as it seems, and two NAD cases – one from three years ago and one from...more
For centuries, monsters have been vilified in countless books and films. Although the bad reputation that monsters have earned is generally well-deserved – they do, after all, frequently hurt people, destroy things, and...more
If you want to advertise that your product performs better than a competitor’s product, you’re likely going to have to run tests to substantiate that claim. In some cases, there may be industry standard tests that could help...more
My law firm picture was taken on a Tuesday morning, but I’ve always lamented that the photographer wasn’t available to take it on a weekend, which would have given me a better opportunity to showcase my Saturday night hair....more
The makers of Bravecto ran a TV ad comparing Bravecto and NexGard – both flea and tick prevention products – and starring one of the actors from Best in Show. The makers of NexGard challenged the ad before the NAD and the...more
Last week, NAD announced a decision involving a series of AT&T Fiber ads that holds important lessons for companies that make comparative performance claims. Each of the ads depicts a funny scene in which a cable user is...more
Even before COVID-19 had turned each of us into an amateur epidemiologist, companies in nearly every industry had begun to recognize the magnetic appeal of health and wellness claims in consumer advertising. Marketers of...more
Last month, the Seventh Circuit reversed a district court’s decision preliminarily enjoining Anheuser-Busch from making various advertising claims related to the absence of corn syrup in Bud Light, including that Bud Light...more
Earlier this year, Align Technology filed an NAD challenge against SmileDirectClub over claims that company made about its teeth aligners. After that, SmileDirectClub filed its own challenge against Align over claims that...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that a brewing company’s statements that a competitor’s beers were made with corn syrup were not false and misleading under the Lanham Act because the competitor listed...more
The Seventh Circuit recently resolved a false advertising lawsuit involving beer giants Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Bud Light, and Molson Coors, which makes Miller Light and Coors Light. At the center of the dispute – one of...more
While comparative advertising can be an effective tool for comparing and contrasting competing brands, there are limits on what claims can lawfully be made. One such limit is provided by Section 22 of the Trademarks Act,...more