It seems to be in every tv ad. non-attorney spokesperson! non-attorney spokesperson! non-attorney spokesperson!
Since I’m not a lawyer I guess I’m a non-attorney spokesperson too.
What’s the deal? Why do we constantly have to be told that the person talking, in the Ad isn’t a lawyer? Especially since it’s commonly known that claims made in tv Ads are typically vetted by the company’s legal department.
What are they trying to accomplish with this disclaimer?
I am an attorney, but I don’t advertise, and it’s been years since I passed the mandatory ethics exam, but my hazy memory is feeding me two things:
Don’t want people claiming that they have an attorney-client relationship with you based on the commercial.
People still trust attorneys, and you don’t want people suing you, claiming that they rejected an insurance settlement because the commercial told them to do so.
I don’t think regular testimonials for consumer products typically include that phrase. Are you sure you aren’t just watching ads for law firms and assuming that the phrase appears in other ads?
The latest thing here is that ads that claim “85% of the people we asked said they would recommend the product” now have to say how many people they asked. So you see in small print at the bottom of the screen that they asked 35 people.
I can’t think of a specific product as an example. Late night tv is filled with parent medicine ads with testimonials that “they improved my life” or “I felt more confident after using this acne cream”.
I pretty much ignore the brand name. I looked on YouTube for an example.
EVERY ad? My recollection is that it is only in ads for a law firm. The medicine ad disclaimer is that the person speaking isn’t a doctor. And other ads have no disclaimer at all, other than “Real people! Not actors!” (as if to say that actors aren’t real people)
Yeah, the ones I’ve seen have been from law firms. The biggest one right now seems to be a suit against Johnson & Johnson claiming the use of their talcum powder causes ovarian cancer. There are other ads about insidious side effects of acid inhibitors like Prevacid and the blood thinner Predaxa.
These are usually for law firms that either specialize in specific types of (somewhat sleazy) law practice like DUI, workplace injury, product liability etc. or firms that are attached to large class-action suits (the mesothelioma ones are pretty common). They’ll feature a well-groomed guy in a fancy suit speaking authoritatively about potential compensation you could receive.
The disclaimer is basically stating that the guy is just a hired actor reading lines, he’s not an actual lawyer giving actual legal advice (lest someone hire another shyster and try and sue them for bad legal advice!) Same as commercials for medicine that show someone in a white lab coat giving medical information but who isn’t an actual doctor.
All part of our ridiculously litigious society. Automobile companies won’t show a car going around a curve without including the disclaimer “PROFESSIONAL DRIVER. DO NOT ATTEMPT”.