Alright ladies and gents, we knew the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines were coming for nearly a year, and now they’re finally here.  This is an urgent (and legally necessary) read for all bloggers, because it effects your reviews, sponsored posts, PR, news articles, and more.  I hate to be the one to tell you that the new Guides are in fact 81 pages long, but they are.

Grab a cup of coffee, because this pdf will take a while to read. 

Click here for the full 81 page pdf of the FTC’s “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”.

Here’s a snippet from the headline from the FTC that hit our screens on October 5, 2009:

FTC Publishes Final Guides Governing Endorsements, Testimonials

Changes Affect Testimonial Advertisements, Bloggers, Celebrity Endorsements

The Federal Trade Commission today announced that it has approved final revisions to the guidance it gives to advertisers on how to keep their endorsement and testimonial ads in line with the FTC Act.

The notice incorporates several changes to the FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, which address endorsements by consumers, experts, organizations, and celebrities, as well as the disclosure of important connections between advertisers and endorsers. The Guides were last updated in 1980.

Read the FTC’s full article here:  FTC Publishes Final Guides Governing Endorsements, Testimonials