3 Agencies Settle Federal Charges on Car Lease Ads

Grey Advertising Inc., Foote, Cone & Belding Inc. and Rubin Postaer & Associates Inc. settled federal charges that car-leasing ads they produced violated federal deceptive-advertising laws, the Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday.

This is the latest move in the commission’s effort to clarify car-leasing advertisements so consumers are not led into paying more than they could reasonably expect to based on product advertisements. The agency’s biggest concern was “zero-down advertisements,” which tout no down payments or low monthly fees but bury additional charges in fine print.

The three ad agencies agreed to disclose critical leasing information in future ads for their clients.

The FTC actions came in response to ads New York-based Grey did for Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America Inc.; ads that Santa Monica-based Rubin Postaer created for American Honda Motor Corp.; and others that Chicago-based Foote Cone made for Mazda Motor of America Inc. No fines were involved in the settlements.

The action is aimed at prompting the advertising community to carry out “its independent legal responsibilities apart from its clients to ensure that consumers are provided with readable and understandable disclosures of essential lease terms,” said Jodie Bernstein, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

The settlements will be final after a 60-day public comment period.