Abstract
Pursuant to the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is charged with consumer protection through the prohibition of unfair and deceptive trade practices. An unfair and deceptive trade practice is gaining in prominence and has not yet been subjected to FTC regulation. Computer-generated imagery (CGIs) of deceased celebrity endorsers are misleading to consumers and constitute a false advertisement. This Note evaluates how digitally resurrected endorsers pervert the consumer decision-making process through analysis of issue-relevant thinking, the match-up hypothesis, event-study analysis, social adaptation theory, and transfer theory. This Note also accounts for the macroeconomic effect of regulation of CGIs of deceased celebrity endorsers. In order to fulfill its constitutionally-mandated duty of protecting consumers, the FTC should issue an all-out ban on CGIs of deceased celebrity endorsers.
Recommended Citation
Kerry Barrett,
Mad Men and Dead Men: Justification for Regulation of Computer-Generated Images of Deceased Celebrity Endorsers,
65 Clev. St. L. Rev.
561
(2017)
available at https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clevstlrev/vol65/iss4/9
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