Consumer products companies are constantly working to improve
their products and often they want to communicate those
improvements to consumers. That's a good thing and helps
spur companies to innovate and improve their products. But
the FTC has brought actions against companies that have touted
their products as "new" for too long with some
"grace" allowed for time products may have spent in test
markets. The networks have similar standards; ABC, for
example, permits such claims for up to a year after a product has
achieved substantial distribution. NAD has also cautioned companies
against making "improvement" claims that do not provide
meaningful benefits and or against products that are no longer
available.
Of course, older doesn't always mean worse, as Coke was
reminded when it introduced "New Coke;" as we constantly
remind our kids and as a luxury brand auto maker reminds us in this commercial pitting Old Spock against New
Spock.
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