From puffery to penalties: a historical analysis of US masked marketing public policy concerns

Abstract

Purpose

This article aims to examine the US history of practices that mask the marketing content of messages to consumers and of the public policy approaches taken towards such practices.

Design/methodology/approach

This research examines both primary sources such as legal challenges and contemporary writings as well as secondary sources.

Findings

The US legal/regulatory system has been examining practices that mask the marketing content of communications for over 125 years. Fully masked messages were initially regulated under postal service laws and publisher self‐regulatory codes. Partially masked messages, e.g. testimonials, were examined first by courts and later by regulatory and industry self‐regulatory agencies. These diverse sources of regulation led to diverse approaches and in part explain the modern preference for information disclosure over prohibiting the masking of marketing messages.

Originality/value

Modern analysis of these practices ignores their history and the historical evolution of their regulation. This article not only reveals a rich regulatory history, but also suggests that modern policy should treat the broad array of masking practices consistently and correct current policy approaches that are based on historical development rather than modern public policy analysis and concerns.

Citation

Petty, R.D. (2013), "From puffery to penalties: a historical analysis of US masked marketing public policy concerns", Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 10-26. https://doi.org/10.1108/17557501311293334