Clients sometimes ask me if I can write a stronger claim to promote their health product on a website or brochure. For example, the term “proprietary technology” is good, but “clinically proven technology” sounds even better. So, can we simply use the latter?
The answer depends on whether you have the evidence to support the claim you want or not. Promotional claims often need to be supported by references in the same way that certain statements in a scientific publication needs to use references.
The FTC and the FDA requires all advertising, including promotional materials such as brochure and website, to follow the truth-in-advertising laws.1,2 This means that advertising should contain claims that are true and not misleading. Certain claims also need to be supported by scientific evidence.1
When do You Need to Use a Reference?
Most promotional claims in health care advertising need to be substantiated and one way to do this is by using a reference. Although the FTC allows puffery or subjective claims (e.g., “the best pizza in the world”) without any substantiation, objective claims (e.g., “more doctors recommended our product than other popular brands”) always need to be supported by scientific evidence.3 The evidence for health and safety claims needs to be competent and reliable such as studies conducted by experts in the related field.3
Additionally, statements that are not widely known or do not come from your own creation/ideas in promotional materials need to be referenced.
Take a look at the following sentence as an example:
Exercise is important to stay healthy.
This sentence represents a commonly known fact, and thus, no reference is needed.
Compare it with this sentence:
Exercising for 1 hour a day can help improve blood circulation.
This sentence requires a reference or supporting evidence because it points to a specific situation that is not commonly known and most likely come from a source other than our own ideas.
What Type of Supporting Documents can You Use as a Reference?
The best type of supporting documents to use in promotional materials for health products is published scientific papers. Published scientific papers contain studies performed by experts using established and accepted methods and have undergone peer-reviews, so they generally meet the FTC requirement of “competent and reliable scientific evidence.”3
If published papers are not available, technical reports or unpublished literature may also be used, depending on the quality of the evidence. However, we should strive for using published papers whenever possible.
Conclusion
When writing promotional materials, make sure that you have the appropriate supporting evidence for each claim to avoid potential regulatory issues down the road. When in doubt, it’s always good to err on the safe side by referencing the sentence in question.
References:
- Truth in Advertising. Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/media-resources/truth-advertising. Accessed August 7, 2020.
- Basic of Drug Ads. US Food & Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/prescription-drug-advertising/basics-drug-ads. Published June 19, 2015. Accessed August 7, 2020.
- Myths and Half-Truths About Deceptive Advertising. Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/public-statements/1996/10/myths-and-half-truths-about-deceptive-advertising. Accessed August 7, 2020.
