Definition of truth-in-advertising

requirement by the Federal Trade Commission as well as various state and local government agencies, that advertisements not make misleading, false, or deceptive claims. An advertisement can be deceptive without being an outright lie depending upon the perception it creates in the mind of the consumer. For example, a product that calls itself "light" may be nothing more than a slightly lower calorie version of its regular formula but will be perceived to be a low-calorie product. Or a beverage called an "orange juice drink" may contain primarily sugar and water with a minuscule juice content. Deceptive advertising can be accomplished with pictures as well as with words. In one famous case, a soup manufacturer placed marbles in the bottom of the bowl so that the contents of the soup rose to the surface in a photograph taken for their advertisements. An advertisement can also be considered deceptive if it makes a claim that is true but also leads the consumer to believe falsely that the same claim could not be made by competitive brands. For example, using "fat free" claims on a bottle of maple syrup might lead consumers to believe that other syrups contain fat.