Understanding Puffery in Advertising
There is a fine line between puffery and marketing claims
Puffery is one of my favorite types of advertising principles to discuss. It is considered to be “exaggerated, blustering, or boastful statement or general claim that could only be understood to be an expression of opinion, not a statement of fact.”
The most famous example of puffery is from the movie Elf with Will Ferrell, where the average coffee shop in NYC declares itself the “World’s best cup of coffee.” If the statement was quantifiable, such as “Voted best coffee in NYC,” it would be an advertising claim that would need supporting data.
In this National Advertising Division (NAD) case, a large credit card company challenged some of JPMorgan Chase Bank’s “most rewarding card” claims. NAD found that the “most rewarding” claims, absent additional context tying them to specific product features or attributes, are non-actionable puffery. NAD also determined that “most rewarding” card does not convey the message that a consumer will earn the most reward points with that card.” This is an important distinction, as comparing the card to others in the market and/or making implied claims in images or otherwise would cross the line from puffery to a claim requiring substantiation.
I’ve previously written about puffery, such as the case involving Old Trapper’s “Clearly the Best Beef Jerky” slogan.
For those interested in learning more, there is a helpful NAD podcast about puffery worth listening to.
There’s more to this JPMorgan Chase NAD case. Check it out.
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