Thanks to the advent of blogging and social media services, the normally copacetic relationship between advertisers and product reviewers has been compromised and the government is now stepping in.
Yesterday, the FTC announced that its revising its rules concerning endorsements and testimonials that have been in effect for almost 30 years. According to the official statement, “the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.”
The FTC’s move is of course receiving some backlash. In a statement to the New York Times, Linda Goldstein–a partner at law firm Manatt Phelps & Phillips that is representing three marketing groups including the Word of Mouth Marketing Association–argues, “If a product is provided to bloggers, the F.T.C. will consider that, in most cases, to be a material connection even if the advertiser has no control over the content of the blogs. In terms of the real world blogging community, that’s a seismic shift. We would have preferred the F.T.C. to work closer with the industry to learn how viral marketing works.”
Of course, bloggers aren’t the only target of the guideline tweaks; celebrities and advertisers themselves are in the government’s crosshairs as well. The FTC says, “celebrities have a duty to disclose their relationships with advertisers when making endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media.” Meanwhile, if advertisers “refer in an advertisement to the findings of a research organization that conducted research sponsored by the company, the advertisement must disclose the connection between the advertiser and the research organization. And a paid endorsement – like any other advertisement – is deceptive if it makes false or misleading claims.”
This is so true…love this.