The Federal Trade Commission has set seven marketing-related priorities for 2004. Lee Peeler, deputy director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, outlined them in his keynote presentation Tuesday:
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Enforce the Do Not Call list. “This is a hugely popular initiative that the FTC will make sure succeeds,” Peeler said.
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Enforce existing provisions of the Telemarketing Sales Rule that limit up-selling and marketers’ use of pre-acquired account information.
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Crack down on deceptive weight-loss product ads. On Monday, the FTC launched a “Red Flags” education guide that lists seven claims that media staff should beware when accepting weight-loss ads. “Weight loss was one of the first FTC cases in the 1920s,” Peeler said. “Ads have gone from the back of the book to mainstream media.” Peeler doesn’t expect the scrutiny will spread to other product categories: “The weight loss area is unique. Claims are so outrageous and the science is so well-established that I don’t expect a confluence in other areas.”
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Safeguard data security as part of ongoing consumer privacy protection.
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Track down sources of deceptive spam, and “dedicate significant resources” to enforcing the Can Spam Act, which is expected to be signed into law by Jan. 1, 2004. “Passage of the legislation is not the occasion to declare victory,” Peeler said. “This is an enforcement issue and a technological challenge for the industry.”
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Keep monitoring consumers’ rebates complaints. “We’re serious about consumers getting rebates when they’re promised. We don’t want manufacturers and fulfillment houses pointing fingers about who didn’t send the rebate check.”
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Pursue fraud of all varieties.
The PMA Law Conference was held in Chicago.
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