This paper gives an overview of the legal environment of advertising as it is influenced by the Supreme Court and by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and provides some clues as to what advertisers might expect in that environment in the future. Using a thematic approach to examine the current FTC and judicial system views of advertising as a source of consumer information, the paper then considers the development of the FTC's criteria for regulating unfair and deceptive advertising practices. It underscores the environment of uncertainty within which the advertiser operates, noting that it is an environment in which advertising is extended First Amendment protection and encouraged as an important source of consumer information on the one hand and on the other is subjected to the restraints of prior substantiation and regulation based on the FTC's expertise. (Author/TJ)