In its complaint, the commission alleged that Lord & Taylor reviewed and approved an article in Nylon magazine last year that appeared objective but was, in fact, paid for by the retailer. The settlement bars the Lord & Taylor from continuing to misrepresent the origin of paid advertisements but does not include a financial penalty.
The deal marks the FTC’s first crackdown on native advertising since the agency released a policy statement in December explaining that marketing material incorporated into independent content should include a disclosure about its “commercial nature.”
