Who challenges marketing claims, and how
Competitors usually sue under the federal Lanham Act, claiming that a false or misleading statement about a product diverted their sales or harmed their reputation. Consumers more often bring class actions under state consumer protection laws, and in New York the General Business Law prohibits deceptive practices and false advertising. The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general can investigate advertising on their own, and New York's attorney general now has authority to address unfair and abusive practices as well as deceptive ones. Some disputes between competitors go instead to the National Advertising Division, a self-regulatory forum that is often faster and less costly than court. Text and call campaigns raise separate questions under telemarketing laws, where the rules on what counts as an autodialer have narrowed but other requirements remain.
Substantiation and campaign records
The single most important file is the support you had for each claim at the time it ran: test results, studies, survey data, and the reasoning behind words like clinically proven or natural. Keep every version of the advertisement, label, or page as it appeared, with dates and the channels where it ran. Approval records showing who reviewed the claim, including legal review, help explain the process. Influencer agreements and the disclosure instructions given to influencers matter when sponsored content is questioned. Consumer complaints and returns tied to the claim should be preserved, since they tend to surface in discovery. Once a dispute is reasonably expected, a litigation hold should cover the marketing team and any outside agencies.
What we sort out first
We look at who is complaining and in which forum, because a competitor's demand letter, a class complaint, and a regulator's inquiry call for different responses and timelines. The next question is whether the challenged statement is a factual claim that needs support or an opinion or puffery that usually does not. If the substantiation is thin, modifying the claim promptly may reduce exposure, although a change should be planned so it is not read as an admission. Insurance policies sometimes cover advertising injury, and notice should be given early. We then decide whether to answer, negotiate, or prepare a challenge of your own against a competitor's claims.
