The Federal Trade Commission may soon make it more difficult
for weight loss supplement manufacturers to use celebrity endorsements. The consumer
regulatory body could issue new guidelines for advertising as early as June.
Changes to current guidelines, which indicate that the
weight loss advertising campaigns must exhibit the celebrity endorser’s honest
opinion. If the results are not what a typical consumer might experience with a
particular product that information must be made clear in the advertising. New
guidelines from the FTC may put more restraints on advertisers when it comes to
endorsements. This could include more disclosure about products in fine print
ads.
Interestingly, according to news reports, few weight loss
marketers or lobbying groups are coming forward to have their say before the
FTC makes its final decision. Mandatory and effective disclosure could impact
many companies you use celebrity endorsements and only allow disclaimers to
flash on the screen in small print for a second or two. Recently, marketers
have used a number of celebrities to popularize their products, from Dan Marino
to the late Anna Nicole Smith. A decision to revise guidelines could be great
news for consumers, however, who are often sucked in by seeing well known
celebrities in television ads who have supposedly achieved dramatic weight loss
with weight loss brands. Now maybe they’ll see the ads for what they are –
highly-successful ploys.