The Super Bowl is something of a national party for football fans and a white-knuckle moment for advertisers, many of whom are counting on successful ads during the show--and not just for wardrobe malfunctions.

You can bet the regulators were geared up for the February 5 game. Corporate Counsel notes the Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Advertising Practices has just issued an opinion on advertising practices employed during the 2011 Super Bowl, in time for the 2012 game.

The opinion “highlights why all companies should have internal antitrust and consumer protection compliance programs in place.”

One big issue regarding ads remains the sort of compensation the companies give various endorsers. The FTC opened an inquiry into Hyundai Motors and whether “bloggers--who had been given gift certificates as an incentive by Hyundai Motor America to include links to Hyundai videos in their postings and/or to comment on these forthcoming Super Bowl ads--were told to disclose to their readers that they had received this compensation or were told not to disclose this information.”

The FTC ruled that the bloggers should have been required to disclose their link to the advertiser, though it decided not to bring a case against the company. Companies planning on integrated ad campaigns featuring a Super Bowl spot will have to take note.

For more:
- here’s the item

Related article:
FTC blogger guidelines: The impact