NAD Refers Talking Rain to FTC After Insufficient Advertising Changes

The National Advertising Division (NAD) has referred Talking Rain Beverage Co. to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) after the company failed to comply with a previous NAD determination finding that certain aspects of its advertising could be misleading. After a July 2014 NAD investigation, Talking Rain’s advertising for Sparkling ICE—which it presents as “the adventurous side of water,” “the vibrant side of water” and “the bold side of water”—was found to be misleading if the product was not shown because consumers may believe that the product is water without additional flavoring. NAD found that Talking Rain’s claim “Naturally flavored sparkling mountain spring water” was not misleading when displayed with the product, which is brightly colored and bears a list of ingredients indicating the inclusion of flavoring agents. In July, Talking Rain said it disagreed with the conclusion but would take NAD’s recommendation into consideration, but following several months of inaction and a refusal to participate in a compliance hearing by Talking Rain, NAD has now referred the matter to FTC for review. See NAD Press Releases, July 17 and September 24, 2014.

Issue 539