Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1934-05-13
u. 5. TO REGULATE
RADIO ADVERTISING
Trade Commission Moves to
Rout False Claims for
Products.
BY SOL TAISHOFF.

BY SOL TAISHOFF.
r UNCLE SANS economic police
force the Federal Trade
COMMISSIONS going to dip
~ into radio with the aim Of
routing false and fraudulent
radio advertising.
Definite plans to invade radio on q
scale comparable with its scrutiny Of
other advertising media have been
made by the commissions special
Board of Investigation beginning next
month. Machinery has been set up
to check the veracity Of statements
made about this or that product BY
throaty announcers for program spon-
sors.
Strangely enough, the broadcasters
are cooperating Fundamentally with
the commission in setting up this new
system to review advertising on the
air. They helped formulate the meth
DDS to be employed, on the theory
that only good can come from such
check, since newspapers, magazines
and billboards, which have been
scanned by the commission for a
half dozen years, have also found 1t
an effective method of cleaning house.
To Determine Truth.
Under the plan. individual broad
casting stations, networks and pro-
ducers Of recorded or Transcribed pro-
grams will send to the commission,
beginning in June, copies of all their
commercial continuities relating to
products sold in interstate commerce.
This will be the counterpart of what
the commission receives from news
papers and magazines, which it scans
to determine whether the advertisers
claims exceed the bounds of truth.
The commission in the past has been
unable to do much about radio ad-
vertising because it did not have the
actual lads" before them, as in the
case Of printed media. To listen to
programs and make stenographic re-
ports OF the sponsors advertising
would have taxed its personnel ard
It's pocketbook, for it is one Of the
Federal agencies which has been
forced to plead poverty for several
yCdIo, OuC W VI doLAI kC0uCllOll0 al
both man power and appropriations.
The special boards activities will
be limited to so-called national ra-
dio programs, because its jurisdiction
is restricted to commodities sold in
interstate commerce. In other words,
it can't do anything about programs
advertising products sold within the
boundary Of a single State, such as a
local department store, garage or SIM
liar enterprises. Likewise, it is linn
tied in its scope to false and fraud
ulent advertising" under the law,
and cannot censor the program con-
tinuities simply because of what the
craft calls trade putting" or slight
exaggeration. 1t won't be able to
change context or "edit" the an
nouncements: it simply will have
jurisdiction to cite extreme cases of
obvious falsity or fraud.
Complaint Issued.
In such latter cases, after reviewing
the continuities, the special board can
call in the advertiser or program
sponsor, along with the station man
ager, and talk the matter over. II
the advertiser agrees to cease the OBJ
jectionable practice-and they almost
invariably do, based on periodical
publishers experiences-the incident
is forgotten. II not, complaint is
issued, and If the respondents can't
prove their points. cease and de-
sist" order goes out. If the advertiser
and station still persist in the prac-
tice, the commission goes into the
courts, because it cannot itself levy
fines or sentences and has no real
punitive power.
The radio advertising study is part
of a prearranged program of the COM
mission to survey all advertising. 1t
is made clear that it is not fish
ing expedition" or direct assault upon
radio, but only plan to allow volun-
tary elimination Of improper adver-
Using on the air, just as has been
done in other advertising fields.
The commissions special board Is
made up of three members, and sits
as sort of subcommission. Only
when it fails to get results does the
commission itself take matters in
hand. The special board consists of
E. j. Adams, chairman; w. F. David
son. vice chairman. and Clyde M.
Hadley. Its task is that of doing
the perfunctory investigating at the
commissions direction, and Of calling
in its superior board only when action
of tangible nature is necessary.
1t Is no secret that the commission
was spurred in its desire to dig into
radio advertising because it is jealous
of its duties along that line The
pending Tugwell-Copeland bill, to
regulate the sale and advertising of
food and drugs, the commission be-
lieves, would usurp the authority over
advertising now vested in it by trans
ferring 1t to the Agriculture Depart
ment. Commissioner Ewin L. Davis
appeared before the Senate Commerce
Committee, handling this legislation
two months ago and protested vigor-
ously against the bill on this very
ground.
Immediately after It became evil
dent That the commission would be-
gin its excursion into radio advertis-
ing. the National Association OF
Broadcasters, representing leading
stations, got together with that agency
and worked out the procedure. The
Nationwide networks did likewise
Participating in these conferences
during the last fortnight have been
Philip G.. Loucks, managing director
OF the N. A. B.; F. M. Russell, vice
president of the National Broadcast
ing Co., and Henry A. Bellows, vice
president Of the Columbia Broad
casting System.
Commenting on the radio project,
Chairman Adams of the special board
said: 1.-THE commission is now about
to enlarge the scope of this work to
include advertising by radio. The re-
Spouse and support it has received
from this industry indicates that