Disclosure of terms and conditions in guarantee ad
69 F.T.C. 1235 · June 22, 1966 · Digest No. 63
source volume section (69 F.T.C. 1235)
Text is machine-OCR of the printed volume and may contain errors. Advisory opinions are the Commission's views on proposed conduct, not binding orders.
No. 63. Disclosure of terms and conditions in guarantee ad. vertising.
A television station has been advised by the Federal Trade Commission that it would be improper in commercials it produces for local automobile dealers to mention the manufacturer guarantee but to refer viewers to the manufacturer s nationa1 advertising for a description of the guarantee s terms. In brief " the Commission s advisory opinion stated the law requires that when a guarantee is mentioned in the advertising of a product al1 the material terms and conditions of the guarantee must be clearly and conspicuously disclosed in the same advertisement. The objective is to avoid the possibility of ,
a reader or hearer being misled by concluding, erroneously, that the guarantee is broader or affords more protection than is in fact the case, and, obviously, this objective is not attained by a mere reference in the advertisement to the fact that one may ascertain the terms and conditions of the guarantee by looking elsewhere.
The Commission is aware of the fact that the advertising of automobi1e guarantees may present compJications because of the numerous conditions which the guarantees contain. But this factor alone makes the disc10sure aU the more important in order to avoid deception of consumers. " (Fi1e No. 643 7028, released June 22 1966.