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.
