The FTC Endorsement Guides: testimonials, influencer disclosures and typical results

The FTC Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255) explain how the FTC applies its ban on deceptive advertising to testimonials, reviews and influencer posts. Endorsements must reflect the endorser's honest experience, a featured result must be typical or the typical result disclosed, and any connection viewers wouldn't expect, such as payment or a free product, must be disclosed clearly. The current version took effect July 26, 2023.

What are the FTC Endorsement Guides?

The Guides are the FTC's administrative interpretation of how Section 5 of the FTC Act applies to endorsements. They are not a rule with fines of their own. In the FTC's words they "provide the basis for voluntary compliance with the law", and practices inconsistent with them may lead to corrective action under Section 5. The FTC uses them to judge what is deceptive, so treat them as the standard your ads are measured against.

An endorsement is any advertising or marketing message that consumers are likely to believe reflects the opinions, beliefs, findings or experiences of someone other than the advertiser. The definition names tags in social media posts, and the FTC said its 2023 revision makes clear that it reaches fake reviews and virtual influencers as well (FTC, June 2023). In a VSL funnel that covers customer testimonials, doctor and expert segments, creator ads, affiliate reviews, star ratings and the comments under your video.

The Guides have seven sections:

The section on experts matters for supplement VSLs. If you introduce a presenter as a doctor or researcher, their qualifications must really give them that expertise, and their endorsement must rest on an actual evaluation of the product, at least as thorough as an expert would normally need. The Guides reached their current shape in two big steps:

How the Endorsement Guides got here

1. 1980A safe harbor for atypical resultsExceptional results could run with a "results not typical" disclaimer.
2. Oct 5, 2009Revised Guides end the safe harborAds must clearly disclose the results consumers can generally expect.
3. Jun 29, 2023The FTC announces updated GuidesApproved 3-0. Adds a principle on review manipulation, a warning on platform disclosure tools and clearer liability.
4. Jul 26, 2023The revised Guides take effectPublished the same day at 88 FR 48092.
5. Oct 21, 2024The fake reviews rule takes effectSix review and testimonial practices become rule violations.

Who is liable for a misleading endorsement?

Everyone in the chain can be. Advertisers are liable for misleading or unsubstantiated statements made through endorsements, and for undisclosed material connections, even when the endorser isn't liable. Endorsers can be liable for statements they know or should know are deceptive, including a false claim that they use the product. Ad agencies, PR firms, review brokers and reputation management companies can be liable for creating or spreading deceptive endorsements. The Guides expect you to give endorsers guidance, monitor what they say and fix problems, and say that doing this in good faith should reduce deceptive claims, while not being a safe harbor.

Two rules in section 255.1 catch supplement brands out:

• The endorser must really use the product. If an ad says or implies that the endorser uses it, they must have been a real user when they gave the endorsement, and you can keep running it only while you have good reason to believe they still are.
• Old testimonials expire. The FTC's guidance says endorsements on your site must reflect current use, and that if the product has changed, it's best to get new endorsements (FTC FAQ). Reformulate a supplement and the testimonials about the old formula become a problem.

Do testimonials have to show typical results?

Either the result is typical, or you say what is. Under section 255.2(b), an endorsement about a key attribute is likely to be read as what buyers generally get. If you can't substantiate that, the ad should clearly and conspicuously disclose the generally expected performance in the circumstances shown.

This changed in 2009. From 1980, the Guides let advertisers show exceptional results with a "results not typical" disclaimer. The October 2009 revision removed that safe harbor and required a clear disclosure of the results consumers can generally expect (FTC, 2009). The FTC's guidance adds that "Individual results may vary" doesn't change the impression either.

A worked example (fictional). Your VSL features Dana, who says she lost 22 pounds in 60 days. Your records of 1,000 buyers who reported back show a typical loss of 4 pounds in 60 days. A "results not typical" caption under her clip doesn't fix the impression. A line like "Typical buyers in our survey lost about 4 pounds in 60 days", shown on screen while she speaks and said aloud, does, provided the survey itself holds up.

Two limits apply on top. Testimonials can't prove a health claim: the Guides say consumer endorsements are not competent and reliable scientific evidence, and the FTC's Health Products Compliance Guidance generally expects randomized, controlled human trials. Our post on supplement advertising rules covers that standard. And before-and-after visuals are results claims in picture form; see before-and-after photos in ads.

What is a material connection, and how do you disclose it?

A material connection is a relationship between the endorser and the seller that might affect how much weight people give the endorsement, and that the audience doesn't expect. Section 255.5 says it must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously. You have to convey the nature of the connection, not every detail of the deal.

The usual connections:

• Payment of any kind, including a fee per video or per post.
• Free or discounted product, even when it's unrelated to what's being endorsed.
• Affiliate commissions. The FTC suggests wording like "I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post", placed close to the recommendation. "Paid link" next to the link works; buyers might not understand "affiliate link" alone.
• Perks such as early access to a product or a chance to win a prize.
• Employment and family. The Guides name business, family and personal relationships. Employees who post about the employer's product should say so; the FTC says "#employee" is too vague, and "my employer's" or "my company's" is clearer.

Payments viewers already expect, such as a spokesperson's fee in an obvious ad, generally need no disclosure. A testimonial is different: viewers assume they're watching an ordinary buyer, so payment, free product or a discount given for the video has to be disclosed.

Two more details matter for this audience. The disclosure must be in the same language as the ad, so a Spanish-language ad needs a Spanish disclosure. And a platform's built-in disclosure label may not be enough on its own: in one of the Guides' examples, a built-in label that was small, low in contrast and on screen for five seconds did not count as clear and conspicuous.

Here is wording that works and wording that doesn't, from the FTC's guidance:

Disclosure wording

WorksClear

• "#ad", "Ad:" or "Advertisement" at the start
• "Sponsored by [Brand]" rather than "Sponsored" alone
• "Paid post by [Brand]"
• "Gifted by [Brand]", when free product was all you got
• "I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post"
• "Paid link" right next to the link

Doesn't workUnclear

• "#ambassador" or "partner" alone
• "#endorsement"
• "Gifted" alone, or "#freeproduct"
• "Thank you, [Brand]" or a brand tag alone
• "Affiliate link" or "commissionable link"
• A disclosure only in the description, the bio, the comments or behind "more"

Where should the disclosure go in a video?

Match the disclosure to the claim. Under section 255.0(f), a claim made on screen needs an on-screen disclosure that stands out in size, contrast, location and duration. A spoken claim needs a spoken disclosure at a volume, speed and cadence people can follow. A claim made both ways needs both, and showing and saying it at the same time is more likely to be clear. On the internet the disclosure should be unavoidable, and nothing else in the ad may contradict it.

The FTC's guidance turns that into rules for video. Put the disclosure in the video itself, not only in the description. The beginning beats the end, and repeating it during the video is better still. In a livestream, repeat the disclosure periodically or keep it on screen throughout. If your VSL targets older adults, the Guides count them as the "ordinary consumers" a disclosure has to reach, so size and pace it for them.

Through a VSL, that looks like this:

Where disclosures go in a VSL

1. 1Opening scene"Actor portrayal" or "Paid spokesperson" on screen, if it applies
2. 2Each testimonialTypical results on screen and spoken while the claim runs
3. 3Expert segmentAny payment, free product or stake in the company, with the segment
4. 4Creator clips"Paid ad" or "Sponsored by [Brand]" at the start of each clip
5. 5Page and adsThe same disclosure beside the same claim, in text

Muted autoplay changes one thing. When a video starts muted, a spoken disclosure reaches no one until they tap for sound, and viewers who never unmute see only the screen. Keep every disclosure on screen as well as in the audio, and turn captions on by default: in RevvyScales you upload a caption file per language and can set one to show by default (subtitles and captions). For a line that must sit over one segment, such as "Actor portrayal" or "Paid endorsement", the video watermark (Growth plan and up) places a timed image overlay where and when you choose (watermark); size it to be read on a phone. Our VSL captions guide covers making caption files.

Influencers, UGC creators, affiliates and employees

The brand carries the responsibility for its network. The FTC expects advertisers to run a reasonable program with four parts: explain which claims are allowed, tell people how to disclose, check periodically what they post, and act on problems. It recommends approving posts before they go live, especially stories and other content that disappears, and checking for a few months after a contract ends. Hiring an agency doesn't take the duty off you. If you run your own affiliates, our post on starting a supplement affiliate program covers networks, payouts and the terms to write first.

UGC ads deserve a second look. A creator filmed as an ordinary customer is an endorser. If they never used the product, they can't present themselves as a user. If the ad presents them as a real customer and they aren't one, section 255.2(c) calls for a clear disclosure that they aren't. Our UGC ads post covers briefing creators.

The FTC's Teami case shows how this goes wrong. In March 2020 the FTC alleged that the tea marketer's paid Instagram endorsements hid the payment below the "more" link, and that it made unsupported weight-loss claims and claims that its teas could fight cancer and clear clogged arteries. The settlement imposed a $15.2 million judgment, suspended after a $1 million payment, plus disclosure and monitoring duties, and FTC staff sent warning letters to ten influencers (FTC).

How do the Endorsement Guides relate to the fake reviews rule?

They overlap on purpose. The Guides explain the law. The Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule (16 CFR Part 465), in effect since October 21, 2024, turns six practices into rule violations that can bring civil penalties against knowing violators: fake or false reviews and testimonials, paying for a particular sentiment, undisclosed insider reviews, company-controlled review sites, review suppression and fake social media signals (FTC, August 2024).

Some duties live only in the Guides. Review gating is the clearest case: the rule doesn't ban it outright, but section 255.2(d) says advertisers shouldn't distort what consumers think when they procure, suppress, boost, organize, publish or edit reviews, and an example in the same section treats inviting only very positive buyers to post as possibly deceptive. Typical-results and influencer disclosures also come from the Guides. Our post on the fake reviews rule walks through the six bans.

An Endorsement Guides checklist before you launch

Check every endorsement in the VSL, on the page and in the ads before you raise spend. Work from the top; the first items carry the most risk.

Endorsement Guides checklist

• Every endorser is a real person who used the product and still does, or is disclosed as an actor
• Each testimonial that shows a result reflects typical results or discloses them, on screen and spoken
• Every payment, free product, commission or employment tie is disclosed in plain words
• Disclosures sit in the video itself, at the start and repeated, not only in the description
• Disclosures are in the same language as the ad and readable on a phone
• Experts have the qualifications the VSL implies and actually evaluated the product
• Health claims rest on scientific evidence, not on testimonials
• Testimonials about an old formula are retired or re-recorded
• Influencers and affiliates have written claim and disclosure rules, and someone checks their posts

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For the rest of the funnel, from claims to disclaimers and subscription terms, see our VSL compliance guide.