NEW~
RELIA~E
•
FEDERAL
TRADE
COivl1l.rf/SS/OiV
JVashingt<1n,
D.C.
20580
OFFICE OF
INFOR.HAT/ON
•
193-6800
Ext.
197
DNEDIAXE
Tuesday
1
November 28,
F
or
RELEA
E:
,
Statement
in
Regard
to
Advertisements
That Appear
in
Feature
Article
Format
The Commission has
recently
considered
the
publication
by
va.rious
print
medi&
of
advertisements
that
use
the
format and hnve
the
appearance
of
news
or
feature
articles.
Genera.l.ly
the
caption
11
p;pv.
11
or
"ADVERTISEMENT"
app_ea.rs
at
the
top
of
such .
advertisements,
but
scmetimes
it
is
omitted.
The Camnission
is
concerned
that
omission
of
the
capt.ion
"ADVERTISEMENT"
may
ca.use
readers
to
believe
that
the
advertisement
is
in
fact
a
feature
or
news
article.
The
Com-
mission
also
wishes
to
point
out
that
in
some
instances
the
format
of
the
adver-
tisement
may
so
exactly
duplicate
a news
or
feature
article
as
to
render
the
caption
"ADVERTISEMENT"
meaningless
-and
incapable
of
curing
the
deception.
The
Commission
believes
that
it
is
in
the
public
interest
that
publishers
and
advertisers
.
avoid
any
possible
deception
by
not
placing
advertisements
whose
format
simulates
that
of
a.
news
or
feature
article.
Inclusion
in
such
an
advertisement
of
a
by-line,
particularly
when
accanpanied
by
the
vriter's
title
(s'..lch
as
"feature
writer"
or
"editor
11
),
may
also
mislead
readers
a.s
to
its
nature.
Accordingly,
the
Commission
cautions
advertisers
to
avoid
use
of
such
device
.s
in
their
advertisements,
when
they
ma.y
tend
to
mislead
readers.
Where
an
advertisement
111E.l.Y
have a
general
resemblance
to
the
format
of
a
news
or
feature
article,
advertisers
and
publishers
should
print,
in
clea.r
type
of
sufficiently
large
size
to
be
readily
noticed,
the
word
"ADVERTISEMENT"
in
close
proximity
to
the
advertisement.
Also,
to
a.void
deception
when
a.n
e.d-
vertisement
or
8Jl
advertising
section
of
this
nature
, :
tends
for
more
than
one
page,
the
..,ord
"ADVERTISEMENT"
should
.be
repeated
on each
page,
--oOo--
I
