An interesting precedent could be set for advertisers based on a recent lawsuit filed against sub-prime lender Countrywide.  According to MSNBC the lawsuit “alleges breach of good faith, fraud, negligence and misrepresentation” charging that Countrywide’s actions do not support their advertising claims.  To counter this argument Countrywide’s lawyers have argued that the ads are “mere commercial puffery”.  

To say nothing about the moral arguments and who’s to blame for the loans in the first place; the ad world will be holding it’s breath that the multi paragraph disclaimers at the bottom of every financial ad hold their clients harmless against these claims.  Otherwise marketing could be in for federal oversight, the likes of which, we’ve never seen.  

Should the defense counter that Countrywide’s culture never intended to support the marketing messages it was putting out?   Could Countrywide not institutionalize the message and carry out what it promised or did it never intended to?  Tough questions to ask and  the court’s answers could have far reaching implications.