Wheeler–Lea Act

The Wheeler-Lea Act of 1938 amended the Federal Trade Commission Act to add the clause "unfair or deceptive acts or practices in commerce are hereby declared unlawful" to the Section 5 prohibition of unfair methods of competition, in order to protect consumers as well as competition.

Wheeler-Lea, in an attempt to combat fraud, placed greater limits on the kinds of facts that could appear in ads. But in so doing, the legislation had an unintended side effect: it led the more legitimate advertisers to skirt regulation by omitting all facts. Ironically, the law only made matters worse for advertising's critics: ads grew increasingly indirect and emotional. (STAY FREE! May 1, 2005, No. 24, pp. 42-48 )