In formulating a health and safety-related claim, advertisers walk a fine line in accurately conveying the results of reliably conducted studies to support their claims. Disclaimers and other qualifying language are limited tools advertisers can use to mitigate the risk of a claims challenge. But as a recent NAD decision shows, just because a study is reliably conducted, does not necessarily mean it is a good fit to support an advertising claim. Thus, basing a claim on a reliably conducted study can still be held to be misleading if the study results do not closely reflect what the average consumer could realistically expect to achieve. What’s more, this recent decision reminds advertisers that a lengthy disclosure may not be sufficient when it fails to disclose a wide variability in observed study results.

On February 25, 2020, the National Advertising Division (NAD) issued a decision and recommendation that Trek Bikes discontinue use of the claim that its WaveCel helmet is “up to 48x more effective than traditional foam helmets in protecting your head from injuries caused by certain cycling accidents.” Although the cited “Bliven Study” demonstrated that the WaveCel helmet in fact outperformed traditional foam helmets for head injury protection in all impact scenarios, the NAD was concerned the claim conveyed the implied message that “People who use the WaveCel Helmet will have little to no risk of experiencing a concussion.”