Question

4. The makers of Saucony brand footwear labeled and promoted its athletic shoes as being “Built with Pride in BANGOR, MAINE USA” and “For decades, the people of Bangor, Maine have been building Saucony running shoes with superior American craftsmanship.” In fact, many Saucony shoes are made entirely in foreign countries. The shoes that are assembled in the U.S. are made completely of foreign-made components. Are these advertising claims deceptive for purposes of Sec. 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act? Explain.

Answer 1

According to sec. 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act(FTC), any unfair or deceptive acts or malpractice which may affect commerce/trade or may injure the interests of a customer are unlawful. Now, what here are unlawful practices ? Any act or practice which-

1) causes substantial injury to consumers.

2)a misrepresentation likely to mislead the customer.

3)consumers interpretation for the product as genuine is reasonable.

So now, in the above case of Saucony brand footwear, they use genuine material for making the shoes or footwear for the customer. And already it is a proven fact, that the Saucony shoes are indeed made with superior American craftsmanship. So it will be not at all deceptive or misleading to the customer because what it claims is, in reality, provided to the customer.

Thus, according to the FTC Act, the advertising claims are not deceptive.