In re Application of EASTERN BROADCASTING CORP. For Renewal
of License of Radio Station WCVS, Springfield, Ill.; EASTERN BROADCASTING
CORP., 4115 Chesapeake Street, NW., Washington, D.C. 20016
File No. BR-159
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
14 F.C.C.2d 228 (1968); 14
Rad. Reg. 2d (P & F) 331
RELEASE-NUMBER: FCC 68-768
July 24, 1968
[*228] GENTLEMEN: This refers to your pending application for the
renewal of license of radio station WCVS, Springfield, Ill. (BR-159).
As part of the processing of the renewal application, the Commission
has reviewed the information you have submitted in response to our queries
concerning advertisements broadcast in connection with the "lucky
bucks" contest sponsored by WCVS from June 19 through July 14, 1967.
In brief, the contest was based entirely on reading over the air the serial
numbers of 100 one-dollar bills, which had previously been distributed in the
greater Springfield area (Sangamon County) by representatives of the radio
station. All serial numbers on these bills were recorded on a master
list. In addition, each serial number was individually written on small
cards and these 100 cards were placed in separate envelopes and kept in a
safe. On the outside of each envelope was written the last digit of each
serial number. Each day of the contest, five of the envelopes were given
to the announcer, one at a time. The last digit of the bill was announced
over the air.
The rules of the contest provided that if a listener had a bill ending
with the digit announced over the air he would be eligible to win $1,000 if he
was one of the first five listeners to call the station on the telephone and if
he had a serial number that matched all eight numbers in the possession of the
station. Certain advertisements for this contest advised listeners that
they could win as much as $1,000 each, and other promotional advertisements
stated that $100,000 was being "offered" or "could be given
away." The odds in favor of anyone winning $1,000 were infinitesimal and
the chances of $100,000 (or any amount cominb close to that sum) being given
away were virtually nonexistent. We have therefore concluded that these
announcements were misleading and that their broadcast was contrary to the
public interest.
The Commission has, in the past, stressed the duty of licensees to
prevent the dissemination of improper types of advertising. See Public
Notice of November 7, 1961, entitled "Licensee Responsibility with Respect
to the Broadcast of False, Misleading or Deceptive Advertising" (FCC
61-1316). See also WCHS-AM-TV Corporation, 8 FCC 2d [*229]
608, 10 Pike & Fischer R.R. 2d 445, where the Commission admonished the
licensee and granted the WCHS renewal for a short-term period because of the
broadcast of misleading advertisements concerning a "lucky bucks"
contest. The fact that, in addition to the aforementioned misleading
announcements, you broadcast, at unspecified times, other advertisements
regarding the contest which stated that there was a chance that WCVS might give
away $100,000 and a good possibility that it might not, does not mitigate the
misleading nature of the announcements in question.
In the analogous field of trade regulation, the important criterion in
determining whether a product is falsely advertised is the net impression which
the advertising makes upon the general public. Charles of the Ritz
Distributors Corporation v. Federal Trade Commission, 143 F. 2d 676 (2d Cir.
1944). Deception may result from the use of statements which are not technically
false or which may be literally true, since the only relevant consideration is
the impact of the statements on the public. U.S. v. Ninety-Five Barrels
of Vinegar, 265 U.S. 438, 443 (1924); Bennett v. Federal Trade Commission, 200
F.2d 362 (D.C. Cir. 1953). The Commission is of the view that the same criteria
are valid with respect to broadcast advertising where a contest was so designed
that the chances of anyone winning the claimed amounts were
infinitesimal. If the net impression of the announcements has a tendency
to mislead the public, that is enough.
Accordingly, we are renewing the license of WCVS for a short-term
period ending 3 a.m. on August 1, 1969. This will provide us with the
early opportunity to assure ourselves that there has been no recurrence of the
broadcast of misleading advertisements by station WCVS.
Chairman Hyde absent. Commissioner Wadsworth
concurring and issuing the attached statement in which Commissioner Johnson
joins.
CONCURRING STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER JAMES J. WADSWORTH IN WHICH
COMMISSIONER NICHOLAS JOHNSON JOINS
The nature of the "lucky bucks" contest is outlined in the
Commission's letter granting a short-term license renewal to station
WCVS. In view of the blatantly misleading conduct of the entire
promotion, I believe that the more appropriate sanction might have been to
designate the station's pending renewal application for hearing.