In a ruling by the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, video ads offered on YouTube (GOOG) must meet the standards of truth and accuracy required by other media.
The issue was initiated when Dyson vacuum cleaner put an ad up on YouTube that claimed its vacuum cleaners were able to suction up dirt without clogging. The video showed the vacuums performing better than their competitors in the video.
When one competitor saw it, they noticed that the comparisons weren't legitimate because the vacuums weren't including the same components that would have made an honest comparison.
So Euro-Pro filed a complaint with the NAD and they responded with the ruling.
Andrea Levine, the director of NAD, said in a statement e-mailed to OnlineMediaDaily, "This case establishes a precedent. When an advertiser places a 
video on a site like YouTube and uses it, either to make claims about its own product or to compare its product to a competitor's product, those claims are advertising claims and, by law, require substantiation."
The ruling of the self-policing arm of the ad industry specifically stated: "Dyson's video depicted a comparative product demonstration and was therefore advertising and subject to the legal requirement that it be truthful and accurate."
It's the first such ruling by the NAD made concerning false advertising on video-sharing sites.
This is a good ruling. Why should video-sharing sites be considered places where lower standards apply and the lack of trust that would follow?
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