From Competitor to Consumer: The Changing Focus of Federal Regulation of Advertising, 1914–1938

Tedlow, Richard S.

doi:10.2307/3114441

Cited by 23 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The FTC takes action Eight years after Congress enacted the Food and Drug Act it passed the Federal Trade Commission Act creating the FTC. The Commission immediately began pursuing false advertising as an unfair method of competition (Tedlow, 1981). In the mid-1920s, a series of far-fetched testimonial advertisements appeared for products as diverse as Pond's skin care products, Fleischmann's yeast, Simmons beds and Lucky Strike cigarettes.…”

Section: Truth-in-advertisingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After heated debates about strengthening the Food and Drug Act to broadly define false advertising to include misleading impressions created by ambiguity or inference, Congress in 1938 augmented FTC authority to also pursue "unfair or deceptive acts and practices" that quickly became the FTC's primary authority against deceptive advertising (Stole, 2006;Washburn, 1981;Tedlow, 1981). It used this authority to prohibit implied fabricated endorsements such as "contractors all over the world would testify that maintenance cost of advertised machine 50 per cent lower than any other," "Howe's Hollywood, favorite of the stars" and a home study course offered by an From puffery to penalties JHRM 5,1 organization called the "Weavers Guild of America" that was a for-profit firm rather than a non-profit guild representing weavers (Moretrench Corp. v. FTC, 1942;Howe v. Federal Trade Commission, 1945;Goodman v. Federal Trade Commission, 1957).…”

Section: Truth-in-advertisingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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From puffery to penalties: a historical analysis of US masked marketing public policy concerns

Petty

2013

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing

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Purpose-This article aims to examine the US history of practices that mask the marketing content of messages to consumers and of the public policy approaches taken towards such practices. Design/methodology/approach-This research examines both primary sources such as legal challenges and contemporary writings as well as secondary sources. Findings-The US legal/regulatory system has been examining practices that mask the marketing content of communications for over 125 years. Fully masked messages were initially regulated under postal service laws and publisher self-regulatory codes. Partially masked messages, e.g. testimonials, were examined first by courts and later by regulatory and industry self-regulatory agencies. These diverse sources of regulation led to diverse approaches and in part explain the modern preference for information disclosure over prohibiting the masking of marketing messages. Originality/value-Modern analysis of these practices ignores their history and the historical evolution of their regulation. This article not only reveals a rich regulatory history, but also suggests that modern policy should treat the broad array of masking practices consistently and correct current policy approaches that are based on historical development rather than modern public policy analysis and concerns.

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Section: Truth-in-advertisingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Truth-in-advertisingmentioning

confidence: 99%

From puffery to penalties: a historical analysis of US masked marketing public policy concerns

Petty

2013

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing

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“…That is where the real damage is done" (Young, 1967, p. 55). The Federal Trade Commission (FK) Act of 1914 sought to outlaw "unfair methods of competition," and advertising was scarcely mentioned in hearings and debates on the measure (Tedlow, 1981, pp. 39-41; Miracle & Nevett, 1987, p. 15).…”

Section: The Progressive Era and The Truth In Advertising Movementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advertising as a Consumer Issue: An Historical View

Pope¹

1991

Journal of Social Issues

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Since the early 20th century, advertising has been a focus of concern for the consumer movement. As advertising itself has changed, it has raised new issues for consumer advocates. Both self-regulation and external control have been utilized to deal with the consumer problems advertising has presented. With the rise of persuasive national advertising in the Progressive Era, advertising leaders launched a "Truth in Advertising" movement to establish their craft's credibility, but the industry's narrow concept of truth prevented it from dealing with some of the larger issues that advertising raised. State laws and the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accompanied this self-regulation. In the 1920s and 1930s, a consumer movement attacked deceptive advertising, but internal reform was limited. A reinvigorated consumer movement, a more active FTC, and advertising based on market segmentation characterized the 1960s and 1970s, and advertising interests initiated new self-regulatory procedures in 1971. More recently, deregulation has emerged as a rival method for promoting consumer well-being. The broadened focus of consumerism suggests that advertising will continue to be a matter of concern for consumer advocates. I wish to thank M o m Friedman and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to Daniel Pope, History Department, suggestions. University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403. 41 0 0 2 2 -4 5 3 7 / 9 1 / 0 3 0 0~1~, 5 0 / 1 0 1991 Tk Society for thc Rychological Study of Social Issues

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“…Coming to the "rescue" when consumers were selecting new products and packaged varieties of old staples was the newly created advertising industry, which urged people to rely upon brand names. This form of consumer communication was wrought with problems-there was a pronounced tendency for the "information" in the ads to be of marginal value, or even counterproductive-and resulted in a struggle over advertising regulation that eventually led to the passage of the 1938 Wheeler-Lea Amendment, a story that has received a fair amount of scholarly attention (Pease 1958;Stole 2006;Tedlow 1981;Young 1992). Advisory Board, Roosevelt was advised by a Consumers' Advisory Board (CAB), whose mandate was to look out for consumers' interests (Campbell 1940, chap.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Giving Consumers a Fair Chance: The Ideological Battle over Mandatory Grading in the 1930s and 1940s

Stole¹

2014

Journal of Consumer Affairs

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This article explores the more than decade‐long fight to establish quality standards for consumer products. Drawing on archival collections, trade publications, congressional hearings, and relevant secondary literature, it traces the ongoing debates over grading standards for consumer commodities in the 1930s and 1940s. It explores the arguments behind the creation of a mandatory grading system that would have aided citizens in their role as consumers, helped fight monopolistic tendencies during a severe economic depression, and supported government economic policies during a time of national crisis. While consumer advocates and a majority of the American public applauded the idea, advertisers, believing that the system would undermine their advertising claims, fought the proposals tooth and nail.

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From Competitor to Consumer: The Changing Focus of Federal Regulation of Advertising, 1914–1938

Cited by 23 publications

References 7 publications

From puffery to penalties: a historical analysis of US masked marketing public policy concerns

From puffery to penalties: a historical analysis of US masked marketing public policy concerns

Advertising as a Consumer Issue: An Historical View

Giving Consumers a Fair Chance: The Ideological Battle over Mandatory Grading in the 1930s and 1940s

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