The Mud Room
Wood sign workshops at The Mud Room
Ada Drive @ Fulton, Ada, Mich.
First step …
Middle of the project ...
The final product looks good!
On the Scene: Making your own creations at the Mud Room in Ada
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The Southwest Michigan FTC Watchdog Group
According to the FTC:
“Advertising and promotional content should be identifiable as such.
An advertisement is deceptive if it misleads reasonable consumers into believing that the content originates with an independent, impartial source, rather than the sponsoring advertiser, even if the product claims communicated in the advertisement are truthful.
The FTC will consider the overall net impression of the content, not statements in isolation, to determine if the content is distinguishable from other non-commercial content.
A reasonable interpretation by consumers need not be the only one communicated or be shared by a majority of consumers.
Interpretations that advertisers intend to convey about the source of an advertisement will be presumed reasonably understood by consumers.
The Commission will consider consumers’ prior experience with the particular media in which the content appears.
In determining the overall net impression of native advertising, the FTC will consider qualifying disclosures contained in the ad or other visual cues that distinguish the ad from other content into which it is integrated.
To serve as an effective disclosure, the language must be simple, unequivocal and conspicuous.”
This ADVERTISEMENT, and all others like it published by Fox17, need to be conspicuously and unequivicolly labelled as such. Simply calling it a “public interest news article” is no longer going to cut it with the FTC, as of December 2015.
This is your last warning before we begin to file official complaints with the FTC.
Cease and desist this deceptive practice immediately, or accept the legal consequences.
The Southwest Michigan FTC Watchdog Group
Oh, and FYI for Fox17 employees:
The FTC’s Enforcement Policy Statement on Deceptively Formatted Advertisements doesn’t apply just to advertisers. In appropriate circumstances, the FTC has taken action against other parties who helped create deceptive advertising content – for example, ad agencies and operators of affiliate advertising networks. Everyone who participates directly or indirectly in creating or presenting native ads should make sure that ads don’t mislead consumers about their commercial nature. Marketers who use native advertising have a particular interest in ensuring that anyone participating in the promotion of their products is familiar with the basic-truth-in-advertising principle that an ad should be identifiable as an ad to consumers.
That means anyone who works for Fox17 and has a role in creating or publishing these ADVERTISEMENTS is legally liable. From the cameramen to the person putting the finished product online, every individual connected with these ADVERTISEMENTS is subject to fines and prosecution.
Andrew
Laws are only as good as the enforcement behind them. If this law is enforced, Mlive would cease to exist as it is an ad agency masquerading as a news outlet. Yet it remains. Don’t get me wrong, I think that would be a very good thing. I just don’t think it likely to happen.
Tim Barney
My wife has enjoyed this place, a lot, and on other occasions our grandchildren as well. It’s a fun place that they enjoyed creating gifts and home decorations. The best parts was using the facility and tools that they don’t have at home, and having some guidance on how to do the art stuff.
I thought the story was an informational one – the threatening comments by the person(s) calling themselves “The Southwest Michigan FTC Watchdog Group” are in appropriate. If they had a legitimate and official interest in this news story then they would have communication via private channels, not via public comments. How odd. And bogus.