New York Times reported that the ongoing Soup Wars have not benefited either Campbell's or Progresso, both losing market share in canned soup products. The article says advertisers continue to challenge their competitors' advertising as false and misleading despite the recession.
The NYT also reports that the National Advertising Bureau (NAB) is settling about one disparaging puffery dispute a month. The NAB is the industry self-regulatory division of the Better Business Bureau resolves disputes between large advertisers. The NAB procedures are less expensive than court but take longer to stop misleading advertising. NAB decisions also have few teeth, relying on the parties to voluntarily comply with settlement terms. But, competitors who refuse to comply and change false and misleading advertising, risk the NAB referring the matter to the FTC. See my previous post about how to avoid the risk that ad puffery disparages the competition's goods or services.
