FTC Question: Is it illegal to promote a product using a fictional story?

First thing's first.

Don't ask for legal advice on a forum. Get an attorney who specialises in business law. Show him the EXACT story you are REALLY going to use. Ask HIM whether it's illegal.

Now, that said: it's worth asking. It is possible to legally write and publish such a story in your marketing materials, and if the exact story you are using is not legal - your attorney will be able to tell you why, and you will probably be able to fix it, producing a new story which is legal. Which you should again confirm with your attorney, just to be certain.

A lot of those commercials have disclaimers on them too. I think Caliban gave you the best advice you're likely to get here. You should never ask for legal advice from lay people, we're just not qualified to give it.

Agreeing with everyone else about legal advice - but have a suggestion. If you are using fiction, use it for educational purposes rather than review or testimonial, etc. Unless you are talking about a fictional scene such as you would see in a television ad, even if what you do is legal, people might not see it as being very honest if they figure out you made up a fictional situation. Sometimes legal isn't the only issue you need to think about.

If you take the family to a restaurant and don't have a good time, you're out fifty bucks or so, depending on the restaurant's prices, the size of the family, etc.

If you invest money in forex and it doesn't go well, you're probably out at least a few thousand dollars. Probably more.

Who is more likely to sue?

I imagine that fictional (or fictionalized) stories may be used, but, as others have suggested, you really ought to talk to a lawyer to make sure your stories don't cross any lines or to make sure you have the proper disclaimers and such, especially when you're dealing with topics that are in professional niches (financial, medical, taxation, etc.).

I see fictional/fictionalized stories in commercials all the time. But, those companies very likely have a team of lawyers that approve things before they go on the air, so you cannot assume that it's okay because someone else does it. One sentence or even one word could be the difference between "okay" and "lawsuit waiting to happen."

I would guess, too, that the more obvious it is that it is fictional, the safer you may be. For example, a local mattress manufacturer runs ads with a spring professor (a cartoon character of a spring with a mustache and wild hair like Einstein) demonstrating the mattress. So, it's clear to reasonable people that the stories are fictional, so I don't see any disclaimers such as "paid representative" or anything for the cartoon character.

But, still, talk to a lawyer, especially if you're in a financial niche.

I am not an attorney. That said, there is a now famous sales letter from the Wall Street Journal. It tells the story of 2 men who went to the same college, and 25 years later, each was married and had 3 children.

After college they both went to work for the same Midwestern manufacturing company, but today, one was manager of a small department, and the other had become company president. What made the difference?

It turns out to be knowledge and how one uses that knowledge and "...the whole purpose of The Journal: To give its readers knowledge - knowledge they can use in business."

The letter does not say one man became president of the company as a direct result of reading The Journal, but it does say The Wall Street Journal gives knowledge.

The letter is here at Andrew Cavanagh's website - (not an affliate.)
Copywriting: Wall Street Journal Letter

:-Don

If you're writing something fake in order to generate sales of a real product, then that is fraud.

I wouldn't do that.

Again, get an attorney. Read the info at the FTC and if you really want, read the cases which usually give you more insight than the nebulous guidelines.

I don't think that should be the first question to ask.

If you are attempting to deceive your customers into buying your product, something is seriously wrong, and you will wind up paying for that one way or another.

Now using fiction in a salesletter in not necessarily wrong, but it you are using it with the intention of convincing prospects that what they are reading is true, then you got some problems.

Wondering if such behavior is merely "illegal" or not will not make you any more money. Integrity will.

Best of luck to you in your promotion.

...