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Mason · 05-05-2002, 11:30 AM

There is no legal mandate that states that testomonials must be separated by a certain amount of space or time. Advertisers use such tactics all the time, and it is only a few rare instances where anything may happen. Consider those weight loss commericials where people say, "I lost 200 pounds in 6 months," and then at the bottom is a statement which reads, "results are atypical." Now, you and I may know that atypical means not typical. The average viewer may not. Is this misleading? Probably. Is this illegal. Nope.

Advertising has always been misleading. Think about all the commercials which imply that you will get laid simply by using their product (e.g. beer, toothpaste, gum, etc). Think about commercials that have nothing to do with the product (e.g The Gap, most beer commercials).

So, simply having such testimonials close together in space or time is not a cause of action in itself. Maybe, if it was discovered that the quote was never said the person to whom it was attributed would be able to sue, though such a suit would not qualify for a class action suit. Class action suits have specific requirements which I won't address here because it is entirely too lengthy.

I don't know if this answers your question or not. If not, respond and we can discuss this further.

05-05-2002, 11:30 AM	#13
Mason Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 158	There is no legal mandate that states that testomonials must be separated by a certain amount of space or time. Advertisers use such tactics all the time, and it is only a few rare instances where anything may happen. Consider those weight loss commericials where people say, "I lost 200 pounds in 6 months," and then at the bottom is a statement which reads, "results are atypical." Now, you and I may know that atypical means not typical. The average viewer may not. Is this misleading? Probably. Is this illegal. Nope. Advertising has always been misleading. Think about all the commercials which imply that you will get laid simply by using their product (e.g. beer, toothpaste, gum, etc). Think about commercials that have nothing to do with the product (e.g The Gap, most beer commercials). So, simply having such testimonials close together in space or time is not a cause of action in itself. Maybe, if it was discovered that the quote was never said the person to whom it was attributed would be able to sue, though such a suit would not qualify for a class action suit. Class action suits have specific requirements which I won't address here because it is entirely too lengthy. I don't know if this answers your question or not. If not, respond and we can discuss this further.