182 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS Commission Act. (Federal Trade Commission rs. ztlgoma Lumber Co., 291 U.S. 67 (1934)). 6. Laws are made to protect the trusting as well as the suspicious. (Federal Trade Commission rs. Standard Education Society, 302 U.S. 112, 116 (1937)). 7. Advertising representations which are ambiguous will be inter- preted in such a way as to accomplish the purpose of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which is to prevent the making of claims which have the tendency and capacity to deceive. (United States rs. 95 Barrels of Vinegar, 265 U.S. 438). Let me refer to a specific case (2) now pending for the taking of testimony before a Hearing Examiner. There the formal Complaint charged that representations such as that the preparation "is a super-powerful skin food concentrate that gives natural nourishment to undernourished skin tissues" and "With this new nourishment, the skin is once again able to work for natural, youthful-looking beauty" are false and misleading because said preparation does not constitute a skin food, nor will it rejuvenate the skin of the user thereof. I invite your attention to the fact that the complaint charges that this particular preparation is not a skin food, and will not rejuvenate the skin. This illustrates the statement made a few minutes ago to the effect that the Commission considers advertisingrepresentations in the light of the evidence pertinent thereto--considers these issues on a case by case basis. Ob- viously, a variation in formula can result in a variation in allowable ad- vertising representations, for example. In another case (3), an advertiser was ordered, in connection with the sale of a specific named product, or any other product of substantially similar composition or possessing similar properties, to cease and desist from repre- senting that said product will change the structure of the hair, or will change naturally straight hair to naturally curly hair. In still another case (4), an advertiser was ordered to stop representing that its product or any one similar thereto will cure dandruff or that it will have any lasting effect on dandruff or dandruff symptoms except during the regular use thereof. Those of you who had hoped for a list of specific "do's and don't's" re- lating to substantive claims for effectiveness of products can see that the problem cannot be simplified to that degree. You, when called upon for advice, may find previous decisions of the Commission interesting and even helpful, but must ultimately draw your conclusions from the formula- tion of the product and its established effectiveness under conditions of use, and then apply your experience and expertise to decide whether the lay consumer would be misled by proposed advertising. You¾ professional training and experience are far better guides than I can offer you here today. For example, the Commission issued a complaint

ADVERTISING UNDER THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ACT 183 (5) based upon advertising for a cosmetic product for application to the eyelashes, which advertising claimed in part "your eyes will have IT--the look of genuine glamor that comes only from long, thick lashes--the kind NATURE bestows on the favored few.*** Prove to yourself that you CAN have the long, lustrous lashes people rave about!" You as scientists might have anticipated the order of the Commission which prohibited the representation that this or any similar product will cause the eyelashes to grow longer or thicker. Returning to the provisions of the Statute, it may be well to discuss the subject of affirmative disclosures. You will recall that in the definition of a false advertisement, there was a reference to the failure to reveal mate- rial facts respecting consequences resulting from use of the product. It was under the authority of this provision that the Commission has issued a number of orders (6) forbidding claims that certain preparations will prevent or overcome excessive hair fall or baldness, or will grow hair, unless such representations be expressly limited to cases other than those due to male pattern baldness and unless the advertisement clearly and con- spicuously reveals the fact that the great majority of all cases of excessive hair fall and baldness are due to male pattern baldness and that said prepa- ration will not in such cases induce the growth of hair or thicker hair. Au- thority of the Commission to require such an affirmative disclosure was confirmed by the c6urts when some of these cases were appealed. A little earlier, I made the point that the Commission's considerations are on a case-by-case basis, each matter being decided by the facts presented therein. I stated that this was true generally as to substantive claims for the effectiveness of products. There are some areas, however, where general principles can be applied broadly regardless of the type of product involved. In these areas, the Commission is promulgating Guides. De- ceptive Advertising of Guarantees, Bait Advertising, and Deceptive Pricing Guides, apply to all products, including cosmetics. The fundamental purpose of the Guides is to assist the businessman in his efforts to avoid violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act and are written in layman's language. They are in the form of interpretive instructions issued to the staff, but made available to the public. The Guides Against Deceptive Pricing contain the following basic points. No statement which implies a reduction or saving from an established retail price should be used unless the saving or reduction applies to the specific article offered for sale and is a saving or reduction from the usual and customary retail price. Any statement which is used to imply a re- duction or saving is prohibited if an artificial mark-up has been used or the claim is based on infrequent or isolated sales or on a price no longer effective. On December 4, 1959, the Commission released its Guides Against Bait Advertising. These Guides define bait advertising as an alluring but