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NARC Starts Flexing More Muscle

By: Dwayne W. Waite Jr.

The Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Review Council, the hand-slapper of the advertising industry, has been receiving a good amount of attention in these past couple of days due to the growing issues in advertising regulatory practices and court fights.

CBS News reached out to NARC to speak out on the "Wiener Wars", the legal fight between Oscar Mayer wieners and Ball Park franks. The two wiener-makers are suing each other over false advertising, and finally it has poured into a Chicago courtroom in front of a U.S. Magistrate. Levine from the National Advertising Division (whose part of NARC) commented that if the companies want "injunctive relief," then going to court is the hand they need to play.

Then on Tuesday, MediaPost reported that NARC plans to enforce privacy policies for advertisers engaging in behavioral targeting. For organizations involved in such activities, NARC will suggest there be an icon that consumers could click if they do not wish for their data to be collected. NARC believes that consumers should be allowed to opt out. What if companies refuse? NARC will first publicly name them, then self-regulatory groups could expel said companies (if those groups abide by those principles), and finally, NARC could turn them over to the FTC.

What's interesting though, is that the FTC doesn't have much authority in that arena. The FTC could only act if the ads seem to be deceiving, or if the companies are acting unfairly.

What's gotten NARC all hot and bothered anyway? Bloom from the FTC said that they will not challenge NARC's activities (or any other trade group) according to the anti-trust laws that come into play when protecting consumers.

The latter case is a question of ethics. Should advertisers be required to let consumers know about behavioral targeting efforts? When surfing online, does it not come with the territory? And if the advertising industry believes the consumer should know, does it really need Big Brother? Perhaps the last question is more of an economic one, but address it if you'd like.

The former case is about litigation in the advertising industry. Is the landscape really that cluttered, differentiation so distorted, that companies must sue each other over bragging rights? Really?

This isn't an argument for less or more regulation, if the market demands it, then so it shall be. As time progresses, advertisers are continually diving into new frontiers when it comes to understanding consumer habits. Let's work on establishing best practices before tattling. That's not fun for anyone.

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About the Author

Dwayne W. Waite Jr. is partner and principal at JDW: The Charlotte Agency, a marketing and advertising shop in Charlotte, NC. He enjoys consumer behavior, economics, and football.

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