The FTC has made advertising compliance one of its top enforcement priorities, and dealerships can no longer afford to treat it as an afterthought. At VADA 2026, ComplyAuto’s Lauren Bailey joined VADA’s Anne Gambardella and our outside counsel, Barrie Beaty, for a practical discussion of the FTC’s recent warning letters, the agency’s six key advertising enforcement priorities, and the steps dealers should take now to reduce legal risk. From all-in pricing and rebates to third-party listing sites, AI and phantom inventory, the panel offered timely guidance for navigating one of the biggest regulatory shifts facing the automotive retail industry. COMPLYAUTO AND VADA CONVENTION PANEL DISCUSSION FTC Advertising Compliance at VADA ’26 What Dealers Need to Know Scan the QR code to view the full panel, with audio synced to slides, and broken out by chapter. youtu.be/mypfB3B9uJk VIDEO CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction 2:02 Agenda and today’s discussion 4:48 What counts as advertising? 8:10 Is a Monroney Sticker an advertisement? 14:30 Private communications vs. advertising 20:42 The FTC’s March 2026 warning letters 27:26 All-in pricing and required fees 33:19 Third-party listing sites and vendor responsibility 43:20 Rebates and conditional pricing 48:30 Required down payments 50:55 Dealer financing offers 53:20 Mandatory dealer add-ons 57:55 Phantom inventory and vehicle availability 1:02:35 “Made in America” advertising claims 1:05:10 Best practices for dealership compliance 1:09:15 Download the ComplyAuto Dealer Guide 1:10:20 AI in dealership advertising 1:18:45 Guardian compliance platform 1:23:00 Audience Q&A vada.com 19
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