Better Business Bureau Advertising Review Programs
For Immediate Release
Contact: 212.705.0120 Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.
National Advertising Division Press Release
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Shopps.com Successfully Participates in
Advertising Self-regulatory Forum
New York, NY - August 14, 2000 - The National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc., the advertising industry's self-regulatory forum, announced Shopps.com ("Shopps") has successfully substantiated its "unlimited" long distance service claims, and has agreed to discontinue certain "installation and activation" claims. The truth and accuracy of claims that appeared in print adverting for Shopss.com were brought to the attention of NAD by Imagitel, Inc.("Imagitel"), a competing telecommunication service.
Imagitel contended that Shopps' claims of unlimited telephone service in the U.S. and Canada were misleading, because the "Voice over the Internet Protocol" ("VoIP") service advertised is not actually available everywhere in the U.S. Imagitel also challenged Shopp's claim that there was a three month waiting period for installation, contending that because the service was not yet available everywhere, in effect (in those areas) Shopps was selling a product that did not yet exist. NAD concluded that Shopps had a reasonable basis for its "unlimited " long distance claim because its network is based on 800 numbers and therefore callers would have unlimited access to the system throughout the U.S. and Canada. However, because the service does not require any special installation or activation, NAD recommended that the advertiser refrain from making installation claims and carefully tailor any activation fee claims to avoid any consumer confusion.
Shopps informed the NAD that they had voluntarily discontinued use of the activation claim. NAD appreciates the willingness of both parties to participate in this voluntary forum and acknowledges their efforts to foster truth and accuracy in advertising.
NAD’s inquiry was conducted under NAD/CARU/NARB Procedures for the Voluntary Self-Regulation of National Advertising. Details of the initial inquiry, NAD’s decision and the advertiser’s response will be included in the next NAD Case Report.
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The National Advertising Review Council (NARC) was formed in 1971 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. (ANA), the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Inc. (AAAA), the American Advertising Federation, Inc. (AAF), and the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (CBBB). Its purpose is to foster truth and accuracy in national advertising through voluntary self-regulation. NARC is the body that establishes the policies and procedures for the CBBB's National Advertising Division (NAD), the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU), and the National Advertising Review Board (NARB).
NAD and CARU are the investigative arms of the advertising industry's voluntary self-regulation program. Their casework results from competitive challenges from other advertisers, and also from self-monitoring traditional and new media, including the Internet. The National Advertising Review Board (NARB), the appeals body, is a peer group from which ad-hoc panels are selected to adjudicate those cases that are not resolved at the NAD/CARU level. This unique, self-regulatory system is funded entirely by the business community; CARU is financed by the children's advertising industry, while NAD/NARB's sole source of funding is derived from membership fees paid to the Council of Better Business Bureaus.
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$10 UNLIMITED CALLING
Plainview, NY, Jan. 18, 1999 (DLD Digest) - Shopss.com Inc. (OTCBB: ACII), the pioneering virtual shopping mall, has introduced through a full-page advertising program in ''USA Today'' unlimited residential long distance phone service in the United States and Canada for a flat rate of $9.95 per month.
The long distance phone service, which is a product provided by OSCM One Stop.com Inc. (OTCBB: OSCR), operates from ordinary telephone to ordinary telephone without the need for a computer or Internet account.
Jerry Conca, president of Shopss.com, stated, ``Since yesterday's introduction of this exclusive new product, hundreds of new accounts have signed up for service by either calling our toll-free telephone center or by registering directly on our Web site. Our national advertising campaign will continue as we move toward our goal of 1,000,000 new members.''
Shopss.com, through its virtual shopping mall, enables committed shoppers to purchase a variety of consumer goods, electronics and books via the Internet. Shopss.com also owns and operates its own customer fulfillment centers.
For more information:
shopss.com
shopss.co.il (Hebrew)
Contact:
Worldwide Corporate Finance
Sy Mitzner, 818/783-0054
or
shopss.com
Source: Shopps.com
Opinions expressed above are those of the Source, and not necessarily those of the publishers of The Digest.
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