In December, the FTC ran a workshop on “native” advertising. The workshop was touted as a forum to discuss the rise of native ads, which can be loosely be defined as sponsored content that could be misconstrued as editorial content if not labeled as an advertisement.
Think of it as the infomercial on late night cable TV that starts off looking like an exercise show, or the insert in your favorite magazine that talks about healthy foods and then you realize it’s a plug for a new drug, or your friend’s Facebook post saying, “I love Coca-Cola More Than Pepsi #CokeWars. Share so we can win a trip to Mexico.”
Wait. What? Why am I watching this, or reading that, or time to un-friend that one.
Native advertising is all those things that you get duped into reading or watching before suddenly realizing it’s an ad.
But “if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.”
An ad is an ad is an ad.
When an advertiser has paid for favorable placement or mention of their product, goods or services, either with cash, product or incentives, then they are running an AD, and the placement or mention is an AD. And this ad, according to the FTC and all the December workshop attendees, should be disclosed as such.
So what does this mean for promotions?
It means that if you are incentivizing people to talk about your products for a chance to win, then you need to have some disclosures around that.
We see contests and sweepstakes all the time where the call to action is for entrants to post to Facebook or a blog or share to 10 friends that “Brand X Is the Best.” And even if Brand X IS the best, you can’t require people to say it in order to get something, unless you disclose prominently that they may be or will be given something in return for their post/blog/share, and require the entrant to disclose the same. Full disclosure is key – or the FTC may come knocking at your door.
What is meant by disclosures?
Ideally, content which promotes a brand in a blog or post or share should say “Sponsored By” (or “Presented By” or the equivalent) and have a link to more information about the promotion or incentive the brand using to get that blog/post/share. But the FTC is still working with the ad community to address more specific standards – especially when it comes to verbiage and disclosures when character limitations or space in an image are issues.
The FTC does have Guidelines for Dot Come Disclosures to use as a guide to how to post disclosures, but if you plan on running a contest or sweepstakes that asks users to promote your products on a blog or other social channel as a condition of entry, we recommend you consult Marden-Kane or your own legal team for the latest FTC recommendations.