## Facts

- Colgate-Palmolive and its advertising agency ran television commercials for “Palmolive Rapid Shave” claiming the product could shave “sandpaper” immediately after being applied “right from the can.”
- The commercials visually depicted Rapid Shave being applied to what appeared to be sandpaper and then being shaved off cleanly in a single stroke.
- The “sandpaper” shown was a simulation: sand applied to plexiglass; real sandpaper of the depicted type could not be shaved as shown without an extended soaking period.
- The FTC charged the commercials as deceptive practices under § 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
- An administrative hearing examiner dismissed the complaint, concluding the misstatements about immediate performance and the use of a mock-up were not material to consumers.
- The FTC reversed, finding both a misrepresentation of product performance and a separate, material deception arising from the undisclosed simulated demonstration, and issued a cease-and-desist order.
- After a court of appeals set aside an initial order as overly broad, the FTC issued a revised order limited to advertisements depicting tests or demonstrations represented as actual proof but not actually constituting proof because of undisclosed props or mock-ups.
- The court of appeals also set aside the revised order, and the FTC sought Supreme Court review.

## Issues

1. Whether the petition for certiorari was timely, i.e., whether the filing period ran from the first or second court of appeals judgment following the FTC’s revised order.
2. Whether it is a deceptive act or practice under FTC Act § 5 to present a televised “test,” “experiment,” or “demonstration” as actual visual proof of a product claim when the proof is staged through undisclosed mock-ups, even if the product might perform as claimed under some conditions.
3. Whether the FTC’s revised cease-and-desist order was within the Commission’s discretion and sufficiently specific, rather than impermissibly broad or vague.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court held the FTC’s petition was timely because the filing period ran from the court of appeals’ second judgment addressing the revised order.
- The Court held that representing a simulated televised demonstration as an actual test that provides visual proof is materially deceptive under § 5 when the simulation is undisclosed and the “proof” is not genuine.
- The Court upheld the FTC’s revised order as a proper exercise of the Commission’s remedial discretion and as sufficiently specific given the advertising practice at issue.
- Two Justices concurred in part and dissented in part, expressing concerns about the order’s breadth and precision.

## Legal Principles

- A misrepresentation violates FTC Act § 5 if it is likely to mislead consumers in a way that materially affects purchasing decisions.
- In advertising, deception may arise not only from express claims about a product’s qualities but also from the method of presentation, including demonstrations purporting to supply proof.
- The truth or potential truth of an underlying product claim does not cure a false representation that an on-screen demonstration is an actual test providing visual proof.
- Reviewing courts give substantial weight to the FTC’s determinations of deceptiveness in advertising, which often depend on pragmatic judgment about consumer impressions.
- The FTC has wide discretion to craft cease-and-desist orders to prevent recurrence, and an order may extend to similar future advertising practices when past conduct suggests a likelihood of repetition.
- An order targeting demonstrations represented as proof but relying on undisclosed props or mock-ups may be sufficiently specific even if it cannot anticipate every borderline application.

## Conclusion

The Court held that undisclosed mock-up demonstrations presented as actual proof in television advertising are materially deceptive under FTC Act § 5 and upheld a tailored FTC cease-and-desist order restricting such staged “proof” presentations.


F.T.C. v. Colgate-Palmolive Co., 380 U.S. 374 (1965)