THE EVOLUTION OF FIRST-AMENDMENT PROTECTION FOR COMMERCIAL SPEECH

During the past 15 years, the U.S. Supreme Court has used Central Huds on Gas v. Public Service Commission (1980) to expand significantly the power of the government at ail levels to regulate advertising and oth er promotional activities. As a result, first amendment protection for commercial speech has steadily diminished. In this article, Supreme C ourt decisions subsequent to Central Hudson are reviewed to provide an update of Cohen's (1978) work. In addition, the current standard for identifying commercial speech is analyzed, and managerial recommendati ons are made to guide managers who are responsible for making promotio nal decisions in this increasingly restricted area.