The Commission's substantiation doctrine is perhaps the most important legal doctrine for national advertising. It requires that advertisers have a reasonable basis for any objective claim at the time the claim is made. In general, the necessary level of substantiation will depend on the type of product, the type of claim, the benefits if the claim is true, the consequences if the claim is false, and the ease and costs of developing substantiation for the claim. In all advertising cases, the Commission must determine exactly what claims are made, and whether there is substantiation to support those claims. We look at both express and implied claims.
Express claims are claims that unequivocally state the representations.
Implied claims are anything else and range on a continuum from language that is virtually express to language that literally says one thing but strongly suggests something else. These rules of the road, of course, apply both to advertisers using traditional media and those who market their products and services on the Internet, telephone, e-mail or through any other media. Application of these principles in Dial Around advertising. A. Comparative Advertising Comparative advertising is a popular component in many ads. There is no legal prohibition against advertisers making truthful references to competitors or competing products.