Advocacy Advertising and the Boundaries of Commercial Speech

Advocacy advertising has become an often-used means for corporations to express their viewpoints on a variety of controversial issues. Recent events make it unclear whether advocacy advertising may be viewed as political (editorial) speech and, therefore, outside the regulatory controls of the Federal Trade Commission. This article discusses the current state of advocacy advertising by reviewing the criteria proposed (and/or used) by the courts, regulatory agencies, and advertising/marketing scholars in determining the regulatory boundaries of this form of advertising. In addition, the article proposes additional criteria that may be helpful in making such a determination.