--- title: Highlights from the 2026 National Advertising Division Annual Conference description: The 2026 National Advertising Division (NAD) Conference brought together advertising, legal, academic, and industry professionals to discuss ad law. --- #### [![ams-litigation-new-logo](https://blog.ams-litigation.com/hubfs/ams-litigation-new-logo.svg)](https://ams-litigation.com) - [Home](https://ams-litigation.com/) - [Services](https://ams-litigation.com/services/) - [Trademark Surveys](https://ams-litigation.com/services/trademark-surveys/) - [Likelihood of Confusion](https://ams-litigation.com/services/trademark-surveys/likelihood-of-confusion/) - [Dilution](https://ams-litigation.com/services/trademark-surveys/dilution/) - [Secondary Meaning](https://ams-litigation.com/services/trademark-surveys/secondary-meaning/) - [Genericness](https://ams-litigation.com/services/trademark-surveys/genericness/) - [Deceptive Advertising Surveys](https://ams-litigation.com/services/deceptive-advertising-surveys/) - [Class Action Surveys](https://ams-litigation.com/services/class-action-surveys/) - [Claim Substantiation Surveys](https://ams-litigation.com/services/claim-substantiation-surveys/) - [Patent Infringement Surveys](https://ams-litigation.com/services/patent-infringement-surveys/) - [Content Analysis](https://ams-litigation.com/services/content-analysis/) - [Antitrust Surveys](https://ams-litigation.com/services/antitrust-surveys/) - [Rebuttal Surveys and Reports](https://ams-litigation.com/services/rebuttals/) - Experts and Staff - [Survey Experts](https://ams-litigation.com/survey-experts/) - [Staff](https://ams-litigation.com/staff/) - Knowledge Center - [Case Studies](https://ams-litigation.com/case-studies/) - [Webinars](https://ams-litigation.com/webinars/) - [FAQ](https://ams-litigation.com/faq/) - [Resource](https://ams-litigation.com/resource-guides/) - [Blog](https://ams-litigation.com/blog/) - Join Us - [Why Work at AMS](https://www.ams-inc.com/why-work-at-ams/) - [Roles and Career Paths](https://www.ams-inc.com/roles-and-career-paths/) - [Contact Us](https://ams-litigation.com/contact-us/) ![banner Image](https://blog.ams-litigation.com/hubfs/AMS-Dec2017/Images/banner%201.jpg) - [Home](https://ams-litigation.com/) - » - [Blog](https://blog.ams-litigation.com) - » - Highlights from the 2026 National Advertising Division Annual Conference # Highlights from the 2026 National Advertising Division Annual Conference The 2026 National Advertising Division (NAD) Conference, “Ad Law in Motion,” brought together advertising, legal, academic, and industry professionals to discuss emerging trends and challenges in advertising law. Across sessions, a consistent theme emerged: what matters most is the message consumers reasonably take away from advertising, particularly as claims become more complex and marketing channels continue to evolve. - The NAD once again highlighted its **Influencer Trust Index**, including that 82.7% of U.S. marketers use influencer partnerships, and that these endorsements significantly influence consumer purchasing decisions. As influencer advertising continues to grow, brands and creators face increasing pressure to follow advertising best practices, supported by ongoing oversight and enforcement from regulators such as the NAD. - **AI-driven advertising** raises familiar risks in a new context. Whether content is generated by AI, delivered through chatbots, amplified through AI influencers, or personalized advertisements, NAD’s position is clear: advertisers remain responsible for all express and implied claims conveyed by their advertising. Claims must be substantiated and disclosures must be clear, conspicuous, and accurate. - Within the **health & wellness** industry, GLP1s, dietary supplements, and other pharmaceuticals, NAD decisions consistently demonstrate that scientific evidence may not be sufficient to support advertising claims communicating functional, efficacy, safety, or other meaningful health benefits. Context is key. Even literally true words can convey an unsupported message when combined with (or placed near) other testimonials, proof cues, or other framing. - **Environmental and sustainability claims** continue to face scrutiny as broad and unqualified green claims can be ambiguous and difficult for consumers to evaluate. Some green claims can create a "halo effect," prompting consumers to infer environmental benefits that were never stated. NAD decisions and recent research show that advertisers can reduce risk by using specific claims supported by robust substantiation. - **Pricing and promotional messaging** continues to attract scrutiny. Recent NAD challenges have focused on whether advertisers clearly communicate the basis for savings claims, reference pricing, free offers, and value comparisons. The key risk is not pricing complexity alone, but whether consumers understand an offer's cost, savings, and terms. When important assumptions or limitations are not clear, advertisers risk creating a misleading impression about a product’s value or price. Across influencer, health, sustainability, AI, and pricing claims, the NAD evaluates advertising based on the messages reasonably conveyed to consumers. Consumer perception surveys can provide objective evidence of what consumers actually understand or take away from advertising, helping assess risk, support claim substantiation, and develop evidence for NAD proceedings and litigation matters. Applied Marketing Science, Inc. (AMS)—which provides survey evidence and expert witness testimony for matters involving false and deceptive advertising, and other litigation matters—sponsored and attended this year’s conference. Members of the AMS Litigation Support team noted that in today’s complex advertising environment, defensible survey evidence is critical for advertisers to evaluate, support and defend their claims. If you have any questions about survey evidence or expert witness testimony for the NAD or litigation, please reach out to [our team](mailto:litigation@ams-inc.com). [![Contact the AMS Litigation Support Team](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3936175/39dc70c7-6d05-45da-bf98-cafaec0401cb.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3936175/39dc70c7-6d05-45da-bf98-cafaec0401cb) About Applied Marketing Science, Inc. Applied Marketing Science, Inc. (AMS) has over 30 years of experience conducting consumer litigation surveys for complex legal matters. AMS is a trusted source of survey design, data analysis, and expert testimony related to false and deceptive advertising, claim substantiation, trademark and trade dress infringement, class action matters, and more. Our survey experts are experienced in conducting and rebutting surveys for litigation and NAD proceedings and have a strong understanding of the legal standards for survey research. 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