Mumbling Disclaimers: Fleas That Come with The Advertising Dog.

It’s hard to find any stop set on any radio station that does not include five to ten seconds of mumbling incoherency. It’s one aspect of radio that’s a household name; disclaimer.

 

Currently the two most prevalent radio advertisers with disclaimers are law firms and automotive retail. These industries are highly regulated when it comes to their marketing. Disclaimers are put in place to protect them and the listener from false advertising.

 

Anytime a local dealership mentions incentives, especially those regarding financing, the disclaimer only gets longer. It’s not enough to say:

 

“No money down and only $179 per month.”

 

Because a specific dollar amount is used as an incentive, it must also accompany the conditions the buyer must meet to qualify.

 

“Car brand is a 60-month lease. 179 per month with 3,999 down. With approved credit. Not all buyers will qualify.”

 

The advertisers don’t like them any more than we do. Their idea of implementing them is to speed them up as fast as possible.

 

Yet, that makes them incoherent. So, what’s the point to a disclaimer?

 

The federal regulations state that disclaimers must be coherent. Yet, they do not -nor can not -define what is coherent. It’s a relative term. And that’s a very big loophole.

 

Unlike automotive retail, advertising law firms are more state regulated than federal. Each state bar association has its own standards of what is and what is not permissible. Almost all acknowledge the standard “no representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than those of other lawyers.”

 

It’s when dollar amounts are mentioned that things get tricky.

 

When an ad says something like “Mr. and Mrs. Johnson received $5 million dollars in their settlement….” then the disclaimer must also include the conditions in which that award was given.

 

“not all settlements are of equal value. Awards are based on judge or jury’s determination which may be solely interpretive….”

 

It’s way too long for me to state the entire disclaimer. On average, it’s anywhere between 25 to 45 seconds long.

 

If you haven’t noticed, ads of that nature are primarily aired on television. That very lengthy disclaimer is in fine print at the bottom of the screen.

 

Therefore, a word of caution. If a law firm provides TV audio as their radio commercial, listen with a fine-tooth comb. First and foremost, the audio must include the standard disclaimer. If the ad mentions dollar amounts, you will need to remind the client that a 25 to 45 second disclaimer does not translate well to radio.

 

There are state bar regulations that are different from other states. Primarily on the west coast; California, Oregon, and Washington, legal advertisements must open with “I am a non-attorney spokesperson.” The only loophole there is if the attorney themselves voices the audio.

 

Nobody likes disclaimers any more than they do paying taxes. Yet, for advertising, it’s our give unto Caesar what is Caesars.

 

Next week, we’ll delve into the art and science of making brands feel friendly. It’s called Psychographics.

 

Mike -The Reel Architect.