Four Million Reasons to Review Your Advertisements

By Denise Branch and Savannah N. Criado

Throughout 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has made clear that it is monitoring,  reviewing and penalizing dealerships whose advertisements are non-compliant. In fact, as recent as August 19, 2026, the FTC entered into a settlement agreement imposing a four-million-dollar penalty on a motor vehicle dealership as a result of its advertising. In addition to this staggering penalty, the settlement  also includes a litany of other compliance actions the dealership must now undertake in order to avoid further action by the FTC. 

As the FTC increases its scrutiny and imposition of reviews, warnings, and penalties against dealers, it is more important than ever to ensure your dealership’s promotional materials are meeting all applicable regulations. Failure to do so opens the door not only to FTC enforcement actions, but also, state equivalent inquiries. 

When crafting your advertisements, remember the importance of clearly disclosing the terms of the DEAL: 

• Dollar total is prominent and the maximum price charged for the vehicle;
• Every advertised vehicle is actually available;
• All required costs are included in advertised price (e.g. product addendums); 
• Lot/dealer specific fees are included within the price.

Even with this guidance in place, Bass Sox Mercer encourages dealers to submit its advertising and promotional materials for legal review before disseminating the same. This includes mailers, giveaways, social-media campaigns, videos, TV advertisements, or any other method of communicating with customers. Outside advertising agencies and vendors offer little protection for dealers as careful scrutiny of their usage contracts likely will reveal that the vendor or agency claims no responsibility for non-compliance or any associated penalties.

Bass Sox Mercer is prepared to review and advise clients on the compliance of all dealer advertising sources. For questions regarding the applicable state and federal regulations, as well as submission of advertisements for compliance review, you may wish to contact: Denise W. Branch ([email protected]) or Savannah N. Criado ([email protected]).