NAD Decision Considers ​“As Seen In” Claims

LegalZoom has a box on its website with the title ​“As Seen In” followed by the logos of five publications that have featured its services. In an NAD challenge, ZenBusiness argued that because LegalZoom has an affiliate relationship with some of those publications, it needs to disclose its connections to them in order to comply with the FTC’s Endorsement Guides. LegalZoom argued that mere press mentions don’t qualify as endorsements and, therefore, that a disclosure isn’t required.

NAD looked to the Endorsement Guides and noted that the term ​“endorsement” is broadly defined as ​“any advertising, marketing, or promotional message for a product that consumers are likely to believe reflects the opinions, beliefs, findings, or experiences of a party other than the sponsoring advertiser, even if the views expressed by that party are identical to those of the sponsoring advertiser.” The Endorsement Guides go on to say that ​“the name or seal of an organization can be endorsements.”

NAD found that one message reasonably conveyed by the use of the logos in the ​“As Seen In” box is that the publications have spoken favorably about LegalZoom or given it a positive review. Accordingly, LegalZoom’s inclusion of the logos constitutes an ​“endorsement” under the Endorsement Guides. NAD held that because consumers wouldn’t expect a relationship between LegalZoom and the publications, LegalZoom should clearly and conspicuously disclose its relationship to them.

It wasn’t enough that some of the publications included disclosures on their own websites explaining that they have a relationship with LegalZoom. The Endorsement Guides state that to be ​“clear and conspicuous” the disclosure of a material connection between an endorser and the advertiser must be ​“difficult to miss (i.e., easily noticeable).” A disclosure on another company’s website doesn’t meet this standard since consumers who don’t visit that website would miss the disclosure.

If you want to advertise that your company’s products or services have been featured by a publication or other third-party organization, you need to ask yourself whether you have a ​“material connection” to that publication or organization. For example, did you pay for them to feature your products or do you have an affiliate relationship in which you pay them a commission for purchases? If so, you may need to figure out how to disclose that.