ABSTRACT
To compensate, television advertisers successfully have used props and mock-ups, designed to appear on television as their products do in real life. Use of the mock-up was necessitated by the inherent difficulties of television photography—real sandpaper is indistinguishable from smooth colored paper. The source of the Federal Trade Commission's general powers to regulate advertising is section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which formerly authorized the commission to prohibit unfair methods of competition in commerce. The extension was motivated by a desire to afford consumers greater protection from false advertising. The limitations of the medium may present a challenge to the creative ingenuity and resourcefulness of copywriters; but surely they could not constitute lawful justification for resort to falsehoods and deception of the public. The need to protect consumers from the harms of false advertising is, of course, clear and generally recognized.
