§ 255.5 Disclosure of material connections. ( a ) When there exists a connection between the endorser and the seller of the advertised product that might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement, and that connection is not reasonably expected by the audience, such connection must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously. Material connections can include a business, family, or personal relationship. They can include monetary payment or the provision of free or discounted products (including products unrelated to the endorsed product) to an endorser, regardless of whether the advertiser requires an endorsement in return. Material connections can also include other benefits to the endorser, such as early access to a product or the possibility of being paid, of winning a prize, or of appearing on television or in other media promotions. Some connections may be immaterial because they are too insignificant to affect the weight or credibility given to endorsements. A material connection needs to be disclosed when a significant minority of the audience for an endorsement does not understand or expect the connection. A disclosure of a material connection does not require the complete details of the connection, but it must clearly communicate the nature of the connection sufficiently for consumers to evaluate its significance.
( b ) Examples: ( 1 ) *Example 1.* A drug company commissions research on its product by an outside organization. The drug company determines the overall subject of the research (*e.g.,* to test the efficacy of a newly developed product) and pays a substantial share of the expenses of the research project, but the research organization determines the protocol for the study and is responsible for conducting it. A subsequent advertisement by the drug company mentions the research results as the “findings” of that research organization. Although the design and conduct of the research project are controlled by the outside research organization, the weight consumers place on the reported results could be materially affected by knowing that the advertiser had funded the project. Therefore, the advertiser's payment of expenses to the research organization should be disclosed in the advertisement.
( 2 ) *Example 2.* A film star endorses a particular food product in a television commercial. The endorsement regards only points of taste and individual preference. This endorsement must, of course, comply with § 255.1; but, regardless of whether the star's compensation for the commercial is a $1 million cash payment or a royalty for each product sold by the advertiser during the next year, no disclosure is required because such payments likely are ordinarily expected by viewers.
( 3 ) *Example 3.* ( i ) During an appearance by a well-known professional tennis player on a television talk show, the host comments that the past few months have been the best of the player's career and during this time the player has risen to their highest level ever in the rankings. The player responds by attributing that improvement to seeing the ball better ever since having laser vision correction surgery at a specific identified clinic. The athlete continues talking about the ease of the procedure, the kindness of the clinic's doctors, the short recovery time, and now being able to engage in a variety of activities without glasses, including driving at night. The athlete does not disclose having a contractual relationship with the clinic that includes payment for speaking publicly about the surgery. Consumers might not realize that a celebrity discussing a medical procedure in a television interview has been paid for doing so, and knowledge of such payments would likely affect the weight or credibility consumers give to the celebrity's endorsement. Without a clear and conspicuous disclosure during the interview that the athlete has been engaged as a spokesperson for the clinic, this endorsement is likely to be deceptive. A disclosure during the show's closing credits would not be clear and conspicuous. Furthermore, if consumers are likely to take away from the interview that the athlete's experience is typical of those who undergo the same procedure at the clinic, the advertiser must have substantiation for that claim.
( ii ) Assume that the tennis player instead touts the results of the surgery—mentioning the clinic by name—in the player's social media post. Consumers might not realize that the athlete is a paid endorser, and because that information might affect the weight consumers give to the tennis player's endorsement, the relationship with the clinic should be disclosed—regardless of whether the clinic paid the athlete for that particular post. It should be disclosed even if the relationship involves no payments but only the tennis player getting the laser correction surgery for free or at a significantly reduced cost.
( iii ) ( A ) Assume that the clinic reposts the tennis player's social media post to its own social media account and that the player's original post either— ( 1 ) Did not have a clear and conspicuous disclosure, or
( 2 ) Had such a disclosure that does not appear clearly and conspicuously in the repost.
( B ) Given the nature of the endorsement (*i.e.,* a personally created statement from the tennis player's social media account), the viewing audience of the clinic's social media account would likely reasonably not expect the tennis player to be compensated. The clinic should clearly and conspicuously disclose its relationship to the athlete in its repost.
( iv ) Assume that during the appearance on the television talk show, the tennis player is wearing clothes bearing the insignia of an athletic wear company with which the athlete also has an endorsement contract. Although this contract requires wearing the company's clothes not only on the court but also in public appearances, when possible, the athlete does not mention the clothes or the company during the appearance on the show. No disclosure is required because no representation is being made about the clothes in this context.
( 4 ) *Example 4.* ( i ) A television ad for an anti-snoring product features a physician who says, “I have seen dozens of products come on the market over the years, and in my opinion, this is the best ever.” Consumers would expect the physician to be reasonably compensated for appearing in the ad. Consumers are unlikely, however, to expect that an expert endorser like the physician receives a percentage of gross product sales or owns part of the company, and either of these facts would likely materially affect the credibility that consumers attach to the endorsement. Accordingly, the advertisement should clearly and conspicuously disclose such a connection between the company and the physician.
( ii ) Assume that the physician is instead paid to post about the product on social media. In that context, consumers might not expect that the physician was compensated and might be more likely than in a television ad to expect that the physician is expressing an independent, professional opinion. Accordingly, the post should clearly and conspicuously disclose the doctor's connection with the company.
( 5 ) *Example 5.* ( i ) In a television advertisement, an actual patron of a restaurant, who is neither known to the public nor presented as an expert, is shown seated at the counter. The diner is asked for a “spontaneous” opinion of a new food product served in the restaurant. Assume, first, that the advertiser had posted a sign on the door of the restaurant informing all who entered that day that patrons would be interviewed by the advertiser as part of its television promotion of its new “meat-alternative” burger. A patron seeing such a sign might be more inclined to give a positive review of that item in order to appear on television. The advertisement should thus clearly and conspicuously inform viewers that the patrons on screen knew in advance that they might appear in a television advertisement because that information may materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement.
( ii ) Assume, in the alternative, that the advertiser had not posted the sign and that patrons asked for their opinions about the burger did not know or have reason to believe until after their response that they were being recorded for use in an advertisement. No disclosure is required here, even if patrons were also told, after the interview, that they would be paid for allowing the use of their opinions in advertising.
( 6 ) *Example 6.* ( i ) An infomercial producer wants to include consumer endorsements in an infomercial for an automotive additive product not yet on the market. The producer's staff selects several people who work as “extras” in commercials and asks them to use the product and report back, telling them that they will be paid a small amount if selected to endorse the product in the infomercial. Viewers would not expect that these “consumer endorsers” are actors who used the product in the hope of appearing in the commercial and receiving compensation. Because the advertisement fails to disclose these facts, it is deceptive.
( ii ) Assume that the additive's marketer wants to have more consumer reviews appear on its retail website, which sells a variety of its automotive products. The marketer recruits ordinary consumers to get a free product (*e.g.,* a set of jumper cables or a portable air compressor for car tires) and a $30 payment in exchange for posting a consumer review of the free product on the marketer's website. The marketer makes clear and the reviewers understand that they are free to write negative reviews and that there are no negative consequences of doing so. Any resulting review that fails to clearly and conspicuously disclose the incentives provided to that reviewer is likely deceptive. When the resulting reviews must be positive or reviewers believe they might face negative consequences from posting negative reviews, a disclosure would be insufficient. (*See* §§ 255.2(d) and (e)(9).) Even if adequate disclosures appear in each incentivized review, the practice could still be deceptive if the solicited reviews contain star ratings that are included in an average star rating for the product and including the incentivized reviews materially increases that average star rating. If such a material increase occurs, the marketer likely would need to provide a clear and conspicuous disclosure to people who see the average star rating.
( 7 ) *Example 7.* A woodworking influencer posts on-demand videos of various projects. A tool manufacturer sends the influencer an expensive full-size lathe in the hope that the influencer would post about it. The woodworker uses the lathe for several products and comments favorably about it in videos. If a significant minority of viewers are likely unaware that the influencer received the lathe free of charge, the woodworker should clearly and conspicuously disclose receiving it for free, a fact that could affect the credibility that viewers attach to the endorsements. The manufacturer should advise the woodworker at the time it provides the lathe that this connection should be disclosed, and it should have reasonable procedures in place to monitor the influencer's postings for compliance and follow those procedures. (*See* § 255.1(d).)
( 8 ) *Example 8.* An online community has a section dedicated to discussions of robotic products. Community members ask and answer questions and otherwise exchange information and opinions about robotic products and developments. Unbeknownst to this community, an employee of a leading home robot manufacturer has been posting messages on the discussion board promoting the manufacturer's new product. Knowledge of this poster's employment likely would affect the weight or credibility of the endorsements. Therefore, the poster should clearly and conspicuously disclose their relationship to the manufacturer. To limit its own liability for such posts, the employer should engage in appropriate training of employees. To the extent that the employer has directed such endorsements or otherwise has reason to know about them, it should also be monitoring them and taking other steps to ensure compliance. (*See* § 255.1(d).) The disclosure requirements in this example would apply equally to employees posting their own reviews of the product on retail websites or review platforms.
( 9 ) *Example 9.* A college student signs up to be part of a program in which points are awarded each time a participant posts on social media about a particular advertiser's products. Participants can then exchange their points for prizes, such as concert tickets or electronics. These incentives would materially affect the weight or credibility of the college student's endorsements. They should be clearly and conspicuously disclosed, and the advertiser should take steps to ensure that these disclosures are being provided.
( 10 ) *Example 10.* Great Paper Company sells photocopy paper with packaging that has a seal of approval from the No Chlorine Products Association, a non-profit third-party association. Great Paper Company paid the No Chlorine Products Association a reasonable fee for the evaluation of its product and its manufacturing process. Consumers would reasonably expect that marketers have to pay for this kind of certification. Therefore, there is no unexpected material connection between the company and the association, and the use of the seal without disclosure of the fee paid to the association would not be deceptive.
( 11 ) *Example 11.* A coffee lover creates a blog that reviews coffee makers. The blogger writes the content independently of the marketers of the coffee makers but includes affiliate links to websites on which consumers can buy these products from their marketers. Whenever a consumer clicks on such a link and buys the product, the blogger receives a portion of the sale. Because knowledge of this compensation could affect the weight or credibility site visitors give to the blogger's reviews, the reviews should clearly and conspicuously disclose the compensation.
( 12 ) *Example 12.* ( i ) Near the beginning of a podcast, the host reads what is obviously a commercial for a product. Even without a statement identifying the advertiser as a sponsor, listeners would likely still expect that the podcaster was compensated, so there is no need for a disclosure of payment for the commercial. Depending upon the language of the commercial, however, the audience may believe that the host is expressing their own views in the commercial, in which case the host would need to hold the views expressed. (*See* § 255.0(b).)
( ii ) Assume that the host also mentions the product in a social media post. The fact that the host did not have to make a disclosure in the podcast has no bearing on whether there has to be a disclosure in the social media post.
( 13 ) *Example 13.* An app developer gives a consumer a game app to review. The consumer clearly and conspicuously discloses in the review that they were given the app, which normally costs 99 cents, for free. That disclosure suggests that the consumer did not receive anything else for the review. If the app developer also gave the consumer $50 for the review, the mere disclosure that the app was free would be inadequate.
( 14 ) *Example 14.* Speed Ways, an internet Service Provider, advertises that it has the “Fastest ISP Service” as determined by the “Data Speed Testing Company.” If Speed Ways commissioned and paid for the analysis of its and competing services, it should clearly and conspicuously disclose its relationship to the testing company because the relationship would likely be material to consumers in evaluating the claim. If the “Data Speed Testing Company” is not a bona fide independent testing organization with expertise in judging ISP speeds or it did not conduct valid tests that supported the endorsement message, the endorsement would also be deceptive. (*See* § 255.3(c)(3)).