Fit to Be Teed: It seems regulations are continuing to come into focus for influencers and brands: Be clear or be gone. Last summer we told you about a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) case involving Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and its influencer, internet sensation PewDiePie. The regulators said the dashing Swede failed to “disclose adequately” that the brand paid him and others to provide favorable coverage of video game Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor ( PRNP, July 18, 2016). Earlier, the FTC smacked high-end retail brand Lord & Taylor for failing to disclose it paid 50 fashion influencers to wear a paisley dress from its 2015 summer collection (PRNP, Mar. 21, 2016). Late in August, it was members of the Kardashian clan caught in the regulatory thicket, sort of. Lacking regulatory power, Watchdog group Truth in Advertising made noise as it posted a letter claiming Instagram powerhouses Kim and Khloe Kardashian and half-sis Kendall Jenner were “engaged in deceptive marketing campaigns.” Again the issue was a failure to disclose relationships with companies paying celebs as influencers, per FTC regs. Message received: FitTea, a dietary supplement the ladies endorse socially, “revised” said endorsements “to better disclose material connections” between the brand and its influencers. The revision was made “following an inquiry from the National Advertising Division (NAD),” NAD said in a Jan. 26 release. NAD, its release says, “Is an investigative unit of the advertising industry system of self-regulation” and the Council of Better Business Bureaus administers it. In fact, the NAD announced a separate action against FitTea last month dealing with, er, weightier issues, claiming its endorsers posted false claims. NAD also said FitTea was “placing paid endorsements adjacent to unpaid consumer reviews on its web site, which made it difficult for consumers to determine which posts were independent reviews and which were sponsored advertising,” says attorney Allison Fitzpatrick, partner, Davis & Gilbert LLP. Communicators will dismiss this story at their peril. “Not only does the FTC have the authority to bring actions for violations of the FTC Endorsement Guides, the NAD also has the power to bring actions for violations of [it] based on its ability to challenge false and deceptive advertising,” she says. In addition, the NAD can bring an action even if the FTC fails to. Significantly, the NAD named the Kardashians in its action. “I believe regulators and self-regulators are putting celebrity endorsers on notice that they may be subject to their next action if they do not start disclosing their sponsorships in compliance with the law.”
News Bits: “One of the most in-depth, transparent crisis responses I’ve ever seen,” was how Katie Paine described Samsung’s detailed explanation during a Jan. 22 presser about how battery issues caused its Note 7 phone to ignite. – BizWire TV will unveil a slew of changes this week, including new host Jordyn Rolling (host Erin Ade is off to CNN), new graphics, set and soundtrack. Now a once-per-week show, BizWire TV also will debut “interactive” elements, allowing viewers to see the show online and via social, BizWire TV’s partner Al Roker tells us. – Not a surprise: Facebook Stories, twin of Instagram Stories and similar to Snapchat Stories began tests in Ireland, Business Insider reports Jan. 26. – PR News celebrated the industry’s top women Jan. 25 in NYC, but we’ll add a tip of the hat to an additional two deserving leaders: PRSA chair Jane Dvorak and The Arthur W. Page Society Center director Denise Bortree. Dvorak, in a Jan. 25 statement, and Bortree, in a blog post at instituteforpr.org Jan. 24, blasted fake news, the post-truth society and “alternative facts.” Both saluted communicators who hold themselves to the highest ethical standards. Agreed.
Onset Financial
People: Former 3M, General Mills and Walmart exec Amy Lamparske joined W2O Group as managing director of digital media. She’ll be based at W2O’s Minneapolis office. W2O chief Bob Pearson sees “a significant increase in digital paid media demand from our clients in 2017.” – You gain one, you lose one: Paul Dyer is exiting W2O Group to become president of Lippe Taylor, a woman-owned business. Dyer’s not the only male president of Lippe Taylor; Cohn & Wolfe president Jim Joseph held the job, too. Dyer will report to CEO Maureen Lippe. We asked Dyer whether earned media’s credibility will suffer as a result of attacks on the Trump administration. “Earned media always has been about starting relevant conversations…the news media is doing exactly that. President Trump has demonstrated going after a person, group, or idea sometimes is the best way of making them relevant. I believe we are in for at least four years of earned media really being at the center of important trends, ideas and movements.” – Longtime Utah newscaster Debbie Worthenis taking her storytelling talents to Onset Financial as VP, marketing and PR.