• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, September 15, 2009

For the second time this summer, an arm of the National Advertising Review Council has taken aim at a company for running a Web site that purported to offer consumer reviews.

The company, Ecommerce Solutions, sold the tooth whitener Vibrant White. Ecommerce Solutions also operated the site top-teeth-whitening-reviews.com, which appeared to host consumer reviews of various bleachers. The site, which touted Vibrant White, did not indicate it was affiliated with Ecommerce Solutions or the product, according to the council's Electronic Retailing Self Regulation Program.

Crest Whitestrips manufacturer Procter & Gamble challenged Ecommerce Solutions, arguing that the "testimonials" were deceptive.

The ESRP agreed that the site was problematic. "At the time this adverting was disseminated there was no disclosure on the website indicating that Ecommerce Solutions controls and operates the website and/or has a material connection with one of the products being reviewed on the website," the unit wrote. The ERSP concluded that visitors "may have been left with the lasting impression of the inflated popularity and superiority of the marketer's product."

Ecommerce Solutions said it is "extensively revising" the site and will disclose that it has a material connection with Vibrant White.

The decision comes just several weeks after the ERSP told Urban Nutrition to disclose that it paid people per post for "reviews" on sites like WeKnowDiets.com. In that case, Urban Nutrition allegedly presented critiques as independent reviews without disclosing that it owned the products being touted.

The people at the National Advertising Review Council are not the only ones looking at online testimonials. Government officials are also scrutinizing online endorsements. Earlier this summer, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo extracted $300,000 from plastic surgery company Lifestyle Lift to settle allegations that the site anonymously posted fake reviews online. In addition, the Federal Trade Commission is in the process of updating its guides on testimonials.