By Sandra Guile
Better Business Bureau
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office recently filed a consumer protection lawsuit against a Cincinnati company for running several store-closing sales, yet they remained open for business. The lawsuit is a result of several consumers and surrounding business owners about this alleged false advertising practice.
BBB also monitors advertising for this type of language and activity. In fact, it is a part of how BBB started over 100 years ago. Today, ad review is offered as a service to maintain trust in the marketplace between consumers and business.
How An Ad Review Works
BBB monitors print, radio, television, and internet ads for content that appears to be misleading, untrue, deceptive, fraudulent or disparaging of competitors. Essentially, if the ad doesn’t appear to stand up to what it promises, BBB will challenge it and contact the business that posted it.
BBB Code Of Advertising
Depending on the situation of the ad in question, BBB will refer to a specific section in the BBB Code of Advertising. In general, advertisements should be truthful with sincere offers to sell a product or service. Along this line, businesses have a responsibility to be prepared to substantiate their advertising statements. Overall, the Code addresses subjects like pricing concerns, comparisons, claimed results, timing and length of sales, distress sales and other subjects. You can find the code here.
What are the Benefits of Advertising Review?
The advantage of using BBB’s Advertising Review service is that a neutral person reviews the ad copy before it goes out for publication, which may catch errors that may put the business in a negative position. If there is an error, or a statement isn’t quite as clear as it should be, it can be corrected before it goes out. BBB Cincinnati provides Advertising Review Services at no charge to businesses. Find out more about it on bbb.org.
Sandra Guile is the Community Outreach Specialist for BBB. She promotes BBB’s message of marketplace ethics through public speaking engagements, presentations, media relations, press releases, web content, and other written materials. Your BBB is located at 1 East 4th Street Suite 600 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 – to reach the office, call (513) 421-3015.