Zuru Edge Limited has voluntarily discontinued its incentivized review practices and modified its future programs to comply with the FTC's Endorsement Guides, following a National Advertising Division challenge brought by The Procter & Gamble Company. P&G alleged that for at least six years Zuru ran an incentivized review program through a private Facebook group called the ZURU Edge Community, which P&G said had more than 5,000 members and where consumers were solicited to write reviews in exchange for full reimbursement from Zuru without instructions to disclose their material connection. Zuru, a New Zealand-based consumer products company whose brands include Millie Moon diapers and which competes with P&G's Pampers, said during the inquiry that it had discontinued the Facebook group and now instructs consumers to clearly and conspicuously disclose that the purchase price of the reviewed product was reimbursed by Zuru. The NAD said it will treat the discontinuation and modification, for compliance purposes, as though it had recommended them, and it recommended that Zuru make reasonable efforts to have recent reviews of current products revised to include necessary disclosures or to notify third-party retail channels that those reviews were incentivized. In its advertiser statement, Zuru said it will endeavor to comply with the NAD's recommendations.
Procter & Gamble CompanyP&G's NAD challenge forced Zuru to end incentivized reviews, a regulatory win against a Pampers competitor.
Zuru voluntarily discontinued its incentivized review program and must modify practices to comply with FTC Endorsement Guides after the NAD challenge.
