FTC Released a Guide for .com Disclosures: Multimedia Messages and Campaigns (March 2013)

Guide for .com Disclosures: Multimedia Messages and Campaigns

Online ads may contain or consist of audio messages, videos, animated segments, or augmented reality experiences (interactive computer-generated experiences) with claims that require qualification. As with radio and television ads, the disclosure should accompany the claim. In evaluating whether disclosures in these multimedia portions of online ads are clear and conspicuous, advertisers should evaluate all of the factors discussed in this guidance document, as well as these special considerations:

● For audio claims, use audio disclosures. The disclosure should be in a volume and cadence sufficient for a reasonable consumer to hear and understand it. The volume of the disclosure can be evaluated in relation to the rest of the message, and in particular, the claim. Of course, consumers who do not have speakers, appropriate software, or devices with audio capabilities or who have their sound turned off will not hear either the claim or the disclosure.

● For written claims, use written disclosures. Disclosures triggered by a claim or other information in an ad’s written text should be made in writing, and not be placed solely in an audio or video clip. Consumers who do not have speakers, appropriate software, or devices with audio capabilities or who have their sound turned off will not hear an audio disclosure; similarly, consumers might not be able to view a video clip on some devices or simply might not choose to watch it.

● Display visual disclosures for a sufficient duration. Visual disclosures presented in video clips or other dynamic portions of online ads should appear for a duration sufficient for consumers to notice, read, and understand them. As with brief video superscripts in television ads, fleeting online disclosures are not likely to be effective.

Advertisers should also recognize that consumers today may be viewing their messages through multiple media (e.g., watching television, surfing the web on a computer, viewing space constrained messages on a smartphone, etc.). This multiple media access does not alter the requirement that required disclosures be made clearly and conspicuously in each advertisement that would require a disclosure if viewed in isolation.

 

For more information, see here:  https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/com-disclosures-how-make-effective-disclosures-digital

 

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