Infomercial - Criticism and Legal Issues

Criticism and Legal Issues

In the United States, because of the sometimes sensational nature of the ad form and the questionable nature of some products, consumer advocates recommend careful investigation of the infomercial's sponsor, the product being advertised, and the claims being made before making a purchase.

At the beginning of an infomercial, television stations or sponsors normally run disclaimers warning that "the following program is a paid advertisement," followed by a legal disclaimer denying responsibility or liability for the infomercial's content (the legality of a station attempting to absolve itself of liability for a program they air, while profiting from the same program, has never been tested in court). A few stations take the warning further, encouraging viewers to contact their local Better Business Bureau or state or local consumer protection agency to report any questionable products or claims that air on such infomercials. Some channels, such as CNBC, include a "paid programming" bug in a corner of the screen during the duration of each infomercial on that channel; other channels, particularly smaller networks such as RFD-TV, have publicly disavowed infomercials and have refused to air them.

The FTC requires that any infomercial 15 minutes or longer must disclose to viewers that it is a paid advertisement. An infomercial is required to be "clearly and conspicuously" marked as a "paid advertisement for, sponsored by " at the beginning and end of the advertisement and before ordering instructions are displayed.

Considerable FTC scrutiny is also given to results claims like those in diet/weight loss advertisements. They especially focus on the gray areas surrounding claims stated by "testimonials" because the producer's choice to include a specific testimonial is an action as intentional as writing a scripted claim. The rules controlling endorsements are modified from time to time to increase consumer protection and fill loop holes. Industry organizations like the Electronic Retailing Association, who represents infomercial marketers, often try to minimize the impact of these rule changes. Additionally, the FTC has been enforcing laws regarding testimonials and have filed suits against several companies for publishing "non-typical" and "completely fabricated" customer testimonials to support their claims within the infomercials. In 2006 the first third party testimonial verification company was launched and now independently validates the consumer testimonials used in many infomercials.

Since the 1990s, federal and state consumer protection agencies have either successfully sued or been critical of several prominent informercial pitchmen, including Kevin Trudeau, Donald Barrett, and Matthew Lesko. Don Lapre, a salesman notorious for his get-rich-quick schemes, committed an apparent suicide while in federal custody awaiting a trial for several dozen counts of fraud.