Polls
In the polls you will find all the previous polls run though the Adlaw by Request website.-
Celebrity Endorsements
Start date : December 2, 2008
End date : January 31, 2009Actress Charlize Theron was in hot water recently with Raymond Weil, which sued the actress for breaching a contract to exclusively wear its watches. Do you pay attention to what products celebrities wear, use or otherwise endorse? Do you think their endorsements make it more likely you’ll seek out these products?
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Juice Claims
Start date : October 16, 2008
End date : November 21, 2008Several brands of juice that claim to be high in antioxidants are doing battle with each other over advertising claims—essentially who has the highest levels of antioxidants. How important are health-related claims to you when you select a beverage?
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Pit Bull Ad
Start date : August 15, 2008
End date : October 15, 2008Verizon pulled an edgy ad that showed pit bulls guarding a junk yard—and a man jumping the yard’s fence to touch a new cell phone—after animal rights groups protested that the ad unfairly portrayed pit bulls as vicious guard dogs. What do you think?
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Product Placements
Start date : July 18, 2008
End date : August 14, 2008The Federal Communications Commission is looking into whether it should pass new rules regarding sponsorship and product placements on television. Do you think broadcasters should be forced to make additional disclosures concerning when sponsors pay to have the name of their company, or their product, placed in TV programs?
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Green Buildings & Clothes
Start date : June 17, 2008
End date : July 17, 2008The Federal Trade Commission is planning to consider regulating advertising claims concerning so-called “green clothing,” such as clothing made from organic cotton and bamboo fiber, and green building products. Do you think there is sufficient confusion in the marketplace to warrant government involvement?
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Calorie Counts
Start date : May 15, 2008
End date : June 16, 2008A recent ordinance passed by the City of New York requires chain restaurants located in the City to display calorie counts of menu items on menus and menu boards. While the restaurants fought this requirement, they’ve lost in court and may have to follow suit. Are you in favor of seeing the calorie counts prominently displayed?
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Green Claims
Start date : May 5, 2008
End date : May 14, 2008Recent survey results indicate consumers are willing to spend as much as 5 percent more for products that make "green" claims—i.e., that they are environmentally conscious. Are you willing to pay more for products that make efforts to minimize environmental impacts?
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Apple v. The Big Apple
Start date : April 18, 2008
End date : May 4, 2008Apple, the computer company, is suing New York City over a symbol the city is using in its new campaign to raise environmental awareness. The GreeNYC logo is an apple-shaped infinity symbol with a stem and leaf extending from it. Apple’s own apple logo is a solid black apple with a bite taken out of it. Do you think the symbols are similar enough to cause confusion?
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Online Privacy
Start date : April 3, 2008
End date : April 17, 2008As Google’s $3.24 billion acquisition of DoubleClick was approved, privacy advocates repeated their concerns regarding the tracking of consumers’ online searches and browsing activities. Advertisers counter that gauging consumer interests allows them to deliver marketing messages more closely aligned with consumer interests. Do you think the ads you see online are better at targeting your interests than ads in other locations?
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French-Fry Cars
Start date : March 19, 2008
End date : April 2, 2008The Federal Trade Commission says cars that run on biodiesel fuel—fuel blends derived from soybean oil, restaurant oils and other alternative sources—is on the rise. Has gasoline gotten expensive enough for you to consider alternative fuels?
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The Naked Cowboy Suit
Start date : February 28, 2008
End date : March 18, 2008Recently, The Naked Cowboy—a ubiquitous personality in New York’s Times Square who strums a guitar wearing only white underwear, a white Cowboy hat and white boots—has sued Mars, the makers of M&M candy, for $6 million. He is irate that the company ran a billboard ad in Times Square featuring a blue M&M cowboy in the same get-up. The Naked Cowboy says he generates a healthy living through celebrity appearances and licensing deals, and that Mars is getting a free ride. Mars took down the ad, and says it has every intention of being a good corporate citizen. Who should win the suit?
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Green Claims
Start date : February 13, 2008
End date : February 28, 2008The Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on environmental claims—and is starting with claims concerning carbon emissions offsets. Do you think advertisers have clearly explained these offsets?
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Privacy Suit
Start date : February 4, 2008
End date : February 12, 2008Sears is being sued by a plaintiff, seeking class action status, who claims that the company violated its customers’ privacy through an online site that allows customers to track their purchases. The plaintiff claims the problem is that customers can hop on the site and track the purchases of other customers as well, as long as they know basic information about Sears’ customers, such as their name and address. Do you view this as a privacy violation?
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Online Gambling
Start date : January 18, 2008
End date : February 3, 2008Microsoft, Google and Yahoo have agreed to pay the U.S. government a combined total of more than $30 million to settle a case involving allegations that they accepted revenue to run ads for online gambling operations, which the government maintains is illegal in the United States—even if they are hosted offshore.
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Targeted Marketing
Start date : December 31, 2007
End date : January 17, 2008Following an outcry over Facebook’s ‘Beacon’ ad program, which shares users’ online activities with their Facebook friends via “newsfeeds,” the social networking site has revised the program. Now, users must “opt-in” to the program by giving their explicit permission before their activities are shared, as opposed to the previous version which automatically sent newsfeeds unless users opted out.
However, Facebook did not go as far as some would have liked in revamping its program. The company did not provide a global opt-out option—the company will not allow users to tell Facebook they don’t want to participate in Beacon at all. Is this a fair tradeoff for being able to use Facebook, which is free?
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‘Free’ Stuff!
Start date : December 5, 2007
End date : December 30, 2007The Federal Trade Commission is bringing a series of enforcement actions companies that sponsor ads and websites promising free goods if consumers will click on their ads. Have you ever been tempted to click on an online deal that seemed too good to be true?
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‘Do Not Track’?
Start date : November 9, 2007
End date : December 5, 2007Some groups are asking the Federal Trade Commission to create a “Do Not Track” list to prevent the tracking of online browsing, similar to the federal Do Not Call list. This would mean an end to advertising that is relevant to consumer interests. Such a move likely would increase the amount of advertising (since many ads would be irrelevant) and decrease the amount of free content (which is supported by advertising). Good idea?
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Rocker v. Drink Maker
Start date : October 23, 2007
End date : November 8, 2007Rock Star Bon Jovi recently sent a letter warning the maker of a coffee-flavored drink called Mijovi that he thinks the name of the drink is too close to his name and wants it changed. The drink maker says the rock star wasn’t the inspiration for the name of the drink, and he’s not changing the name. Who do you think is right?
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Drug Ads Preserved
Start date : October 8, 2007
End date : October 22, 2007Congress recently passed a drug reform bill that preserves the right of pharmaceutical companies to advertise new drugs they are bringing to market. Have you ever learned of a potentially helpful medication or treatment through advertising?
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Facing the Competition
Start date : September 19, 2007
End date : October 7, 2007Search engine giant Google is facing a battle on several fronts to allow competitors the right to purchase trademarked terms as ‘key words,’ which enables them to appear as paid sponsors in search results alongside the original company name, product and/or service for which a consumer is searching.
Trademark holders claim the practice causes consumer confusion. Competitors argue that it’s a matter of fair competition. Who is right?