TINA.org presentation for NCPW.

1. Protecting Consumers from
False Advertising
Bonnie Patten, Executive Director
truthinadvertising.org

2. Truthinadvertising.org
• Mission: Dedicated to
empowering consumers to
protect themselves and others
against false and deceptive
advertising
• How We Do It: Investigative
journalism, education, and legal
advocacy
• Where to find us:
www.truthinadvertising.org or
TINA.org, @truthinad, /truthinad
on FB
• What We’ve Done: Nearly 3000
Ad Alerts, News, Blog & Class
Action Posts, 25 Legal Actions

3. Collaborations
• FTC: Pyramid Scheme, Made in USA, Supplements
• FDA: Database of Deceptive E-cigarette Marketing Claims
• U.S. Senate:
– Legal research & opinion on proposed Made in USA legislation
– Examples of false and misleading weight loss advertising for
congressional hearing
• Congressional Staff: Presentations about MLMs vs. pyramid
schemes held on the Hill
• State Governments: E-cigarette Marketing, Deceptive
Financing Offers, FOIA
• Synergy Nonprofits: File Joint Legal Briefs, Supply Evidence
for Investigations, Provide Guidance/Advice

4. Made in the USA
• Express, Implied, Qualified, Unqualified
Claims
• Federal vs. State Laws
• Pending Federal Legislation (S.1518 - Reinforcing
American-Made Products Act of 2015)
• TINA.org Legal Actions: Walmart & Almay

5. Walmart Made in USA
After TINA.org documented hundreds of examples of false Made
in USA claims on its website, Walmart pledged to remove all such
marketing from Walmart.com and currently posts a disclaimer
that its Made in USA representations may be inaccurate.

6. Almay Made in USA
After TINA.org called Almay out for making unqualified,
implied Made in USA claims with its marketing, the company
changed its tagline from “Almay Simply American” to “Almay
the American Look.”
Before After

7. How We Help
• Educational Materials
• Take Complaints & Investigate
• State by State Resources
• Class-Action Tracker – information on
settlements and pending class-actions
• Ad Alerts – Lumosity, Sensa, Tommie Copper
• E-newsletter
• Social Media Educational Campaigns