Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

July 24, 2008 7:36:02 AM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Lawyers' Ads Make for Legal Circus Indeed

Posted Feb 7, 08 1:46 PM CST in US,  Arts & Living 

(Newser) – A law firm running ads is often frowned upon by its legal peers, and such advertising is subject to strict standards in many states. But with New York cracking down on TV spots depicting lawyers as giants or offering counsel to aliens, firms are fighting back, the Wall Street Journal reports, asserting the ads are within their free-speech rights.

South Carolina bars “showmanship, puffery or hucksterism;” Florida prohibits any emotional appeal, with one attorney barred from using a pit bull as his mascot. “Were we to approve,” a court explained, “images of sharks, wolves, crocodiles and piranhas could follow.” One Florida barrister disagrees: "The advertising rules are bizarre," he says. "The established legal bar pines for the Eisenhower era."

Source Wall Street Journal

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • 'Jackie Moon' Plugs Old Spice

    Feb 27, 08 12:10 PM CST
    'Jackie Moon' Plugs Old Spice In its latest move to shed its image as a '70s relic, Old Spice has hired a '70s relic as its spokesman: the Afro-ed, headband-sporting basketball player Jackie Moon. Old Spice hopes Moon, a Will Ferrell character starring in the upcoming Semi-Pro, will attract the coveted young male demographic with humor, the LA Times reports. More »

  • The 11 Best Super Bowl Ads

    Feb 3, 08 2:56 PM CST
    The 11 Best Super Bowl Ads There's probably supposed to be a game or something on tonight, but for legions of Americans, Super Bowl Sunday is all about the commercials. EW jumped in its way-back machine and dug up the 11 most memorable big-game distractions. They were:

    • Cindy Crawford drinks a Pepsi (1992)
    • The Ridley Scott-directed 1984 Macintosh ad (1984)
    • Jordan and Bird's Shoot-off (1993)
    More »

  • Subway Sues Quiznos Over Ad Contest

    Jan 29, 08 7:30 PM CST
    Subway Sues Quiznos Over Ad Contest Subway is suing Quiznos after the sub-maker invited fans to drum up ads for an online contest, the New York Times reports. Two years ago, Quiznos offered $10,000 to the fan whose ad best compared Quiznos subs to Subway's "with Quiznos being superior." Subway fumed after seeing its sandwiches kicked, mocked, and destroyed on a website that has since been taken down. More »

  • Super Bowl Ads Mirror US Mood

    Jan 21, 08 6:40 PM CST
    Super Bowl Ads Mirror US Mood Super Bowl ads reveal the economic tenor of our times, MSNBC reports. Boom times spark creative commercials, like Apple's famed Ridley Scott-directed "1984" plug, which aired as economic confidence was rising. “Every year it really does mirror the biggest trends that year—what’s happening in the economy and what’s happening in the culture,” says an Adweek critic. More »

  • 'Idol' Charges Record Ad Rates

    Jan 14, 08 3:25 PM CST
    'Idol' Charges Record Ad Rates "American Idol"—TV's undisputed ratings champ with its biggest competitors sidelined by the writers strike—is setting records for ad prices. "It's the biggest thing in a landscape where there aren't as many big things as there used to be,'' an ad buyer tells Bloomberg. The price of a 30-second spot bought now rather than in advance tops $900,000. More »

"Lions are an open question," says Greg Beck, a lawyer with Public Citizen Litigation Group in Washington who specializes in lawyer advertising. "Lions can be vicious, but they are also noble. The whole...   (Shutterstock)
"It cannot be denied," wrote assistant New York Attorney General Patrick MacRae in a court filing, "that there is little likelihood that [the lawyers] were retained by aliens." (AP Photo/Roswell Daily...   (Associated Press)
  (Shutterstock)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (1 of 1)

Tags

advertising  • lawyer  • commercials


Loading...

Loading...

Today's Most Popular


Other Arts & Living Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »