In today’s dynamic market, brand partnerships with artists and musicians have become a powerful strategy for companies looking to enhance their visibility and connect with active and aligned audiences. These campaigns can also benefit artists looking to better understand their audience and drive engagement. Done properly, such campaigns can provide invaluable data and insights for both partners ..read more

As a whirlwind 2024 draws to a close, we here at BakerHostetler are reflecting on the promotions trends we’ve seen this year and what we predict you will see more of in 2025. Below, we pinpoint those trends and share some best practices to keep in-house counsel ahead of the game ..read more

The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) held its annual Masters of Advertising Law Conference November 11-13 in sunny Scottsdale, Arizona, and wow, children’s advertising and privacy was a hot-button topic at the conference, with several panels focused on these issues. The Children’s and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), several state laws and of course the specter of artificial intelligence (AI) all loomed large over the conference panels. We provide an overview below ..read more

Historically, changes in administrations did not lead to major changes at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). There were some adjustments around the edges, but the agency mostly operated on a bipartisan basis. Those days, however, are gone, and the election results of last week will make a real change in what to expect from the FTC in 2025 and beyond. Of course, nothing is set in stone as to what to expect from the new administration or the commissioners ..read more

The Federal Trade Commission recently announced that it will hold a virtual workshop to examine the use of design features that aim to monopolize kids’ time online, a concept that has been branded the “attention economy.” The virtual workshop, to be held February 25, 2025, will bring together researchers, technologists, child development and legal experts, consumer advocates and industry professionals to explore how the attention economy has a particular impact on kids and teens ..read more

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finally released its long-awaited Negative Option Rule (the Final Rule), aka the “Click-to-Cancel Rule,” on October 16. The Final Rule was approved by a partisan vote of 3-2, with the two Republican commissioners voting no and Commissioner Melissa Holyoak writing a strong dissenting statement. While the Final Rule is very close to the 2023 proposed rule, the FTC does appear to have listened to some of the industry comments and eliminated or modified, at least for now, some of the more objectionable provisions, such as the prohibition on save-a-sale efforts an ..read more

The topic of material disclosures was a running theme at this year’s NAD Conference. Following the one-year anniversary of the FTC’s updates to the Endorsement Guides (Guides), NAD staff shared how they were applying and adjudicating the new guidance ..read more

Brands’ social media feeds are getting attention lately, but not always for the right reasons. We’ve covered social media advertising risks in our ADventures in Law blog before. Check out Amy Ralph Mudge’s post on using memes and other trending content on a brand page. While the use of memes on brands’ social posts continues to come up, there’s more that brands should be thinking about when creating and vetting content so they can avoid infringement claims ..read more

On September 25, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced five administrative complaints and proposed orders involving companies that – according to the agency’s press release – have allegedly relied on artificial intelligence to “supercharge deceptive or unfair conduct that harms consumers.” The FTC has dubbed this new initiative “Operation AI Comply.” For over a year, the FTC has shared insights into its AI focus areas through enforcement, blogs, speeches and other public comments. This new series of cases underscores specific concerns, while detailed dissenting statements clearly indica ..read more

The staff of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently issued a report that contains the staff’s findings from its review of disclosure statements from 70 multi-level marketers (MLMs). The report is just the latest in a series of attacks that the FTC has launched against the MLM industry and provides further insight into how the FTC is likely to scrutinize earnings claims. According to the report, the staff reviewed 70 publicly available MLM income disclosure statements from a wide array of MLMs to determine whether these statements adequately convey earnings information to potential partici ..read more