Advertising substantiation basics from the FTC

The Federal Trade Commission expects advertisers to have a reasonable basis for objective claims before they make them. This is known as advertising substantiation. If your product page says something that can be checked, such as a purity figure, a testing claim or a delivery time, you should already have the evidence that supports it.

This page summarizes the FTC's policy statement on substantiation and related FTC business guidance, then shows how to apply the idea to the copy on a research supply store.

The core rule

The FTC's Policy Statement Regarding Advertising Substantiation dates from 1984. It reaffirms that advertisers and ad agencies need a reasonable basis for objective claims before they disseminate them. It says that failing to possess and rely on a reasonable basis for objective claims is an unfair and deceptive act under Section 5 of the FTC Act.

The FTC's small business guide on advertising makes the timing plain: the law requires that advertisers have proof before the ad runs. The same guide says ads must be truthful and not deceptive, and that claims made online must be truthful and substantiated just like claims in any other medium.

Express and implied claims

An express claim is stated literally. An implied claim is one the audience takes from the ad indirectly. The FTC's guidance says advertisers need support for both.

The policy statement adds two specific points:

• If an ad states a level of support, such as "tests prove" or "studies show," the advertiser must have at least that level of substantiation.
• If an ad implies more support than it states, or implies a particular kind of support, the advertiser must have the amount and type of substantiation the ad actually communicates.

How much evidence is enough

Where an ad does not state or imply a level of support, the policy statement says the FTC weighs several factors to decide what a reasonable basis is:

• The type of claim.
• The type of product.
• The consequences of a false claim and the benefits of a truthful one.
• The cost of developing substantiation for the claim.
• The amount of substantiation that experts in the field believe is reasonable.

For health-related claims the bar is high. The FTC's Health Products Compliance Guidance says such claims generally need competent and reliable scientific evidence, and that anecdotes are never enough to support claims about a health product's effects. For a store that sells to research buyers, the simpler course is not to make health, wellness, weight, fitness or performance claims at all. Our list of claims to remove from a research supply store covers these categories.

Net impression, disclaimers and testimonials

The Health Products Compliance Guidance sets out several principles that apply well beyond health products:

• Net impression. Each ad should be judged as a whole, by the overall message all of its parts convey, not phrase by phrase.
• Intent does not decide it. What counts is what consumers reasonably understand, not what the marketer meant.
• Disclaimers cannot contradict a claim. A disclosure must be clear and conspicuous, and it cannot directly contradict a claim made elsewhere in the ad.
• Testimonials are not substantiation. An endorser's honest opinion does not prove a claim. Material connections between endorsers and the advertiser need to be clearly disclosed.

The small business guide makes a related point: fine print cannot contradict the main message of an ad.

Who can be responsible

The Health Products Compliance Guidance says anyone who participates in deceptive marketing is potentially liable under FTC law. It lists marketers, executives with control over marketing, ad agencies, distributors, retailers and endorsers. If affiliates or other promoters write about your products, their claims are part of the picture. See affiliate and influencer programs for research suppliers.

Applying substantiation to research supply copy

Most objective claims on a research supply store are about the product's identity and quality and about how you operate. Each one should be backed by something you can produce:

• Purity or composition figures. Keep the certificate of analysis for the lot you are selling. See what a certificate of analysis should show.
• Testing claims, such as testing by an independent laboratory. Keep the laboratory's report and confirm it covers the lot on sale.
• Handling and storage claims. Make sure they match what you actually do in your warehouse and when shipping.
• Delivery times. Match them to your real fulfillment record, not your best week.
• Comparisons with other suppliers. Only make them if you have data that supports the specific comparison.
• Ratings, review counts or customer numbers. Keep them accurate and current.

A simple substantiation routine

1. List every objective claim on each product page, banner and email template.
2. Next to each, write the express claim and any implied claim a reasonable reader could take from it.
3. Match each claim to a document you hold: a certificate, a lab report, a shipping log.
4. Rewrite or remove any claim you cannot support with what you have today.
5. Remove health, wellness, weight, fitness or performance claims entirely rather than trying to qualify them.
6. Keep the evidence file with dates, so you can show what supported a claim when it was published.
7. Repeat when products, lots or promotions change.

Our guide to writing accurate product descriptions for research compounds has more on wording.

Where this fits

Substantiation is one part of keeping your store's copy accurate. Claddr's weekly monitoring checks product pages, policies and checkout copy against your compliance profile and points to the exact line with a suggested fix. It does not judge whether your evidence is adequate. Speak to a qualified lawyer about your business if you are unsure what a claim requires.