May 24, 2019
It wasn't that long ago that we were having heated debates over whether or not the cartoon character in the Camel cigarettes commercial should be allowed to be in advertisements on television when children may be watching.
Some also used to discuss if the laundry list of side effects was being read too quickly at the end of commercials for prescription medications for it to be considered an ethical warning.
The people who created those advertisements were trained professionals working in advertising agencies. They were taught to follow certain ethical rules and guidelines to attempt to do what they felt was right by their audience at the time.
Nowadays advertising issues go well beyond a lady speed-reading the side effects of constipation and a heart attack. The creation of social media has brought along a host of new problems in regards to ethical advertising.
Image retrieved from www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jessica+braun+sponsorship
Nowadays anyone can technically advertise for any company they choose. Any person with a smart phone can record a video of themselves reviewing a new lipstick they bought, playing a video game the just purchased, or even just organizing their linen closet and find themselves being considered an "influencer."
YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and even Facebook has become a breeding ground for people sharing their "favorite" products in return for compensation from a brand or company. It wasn't until recently that some regulations have started to be enforced on these influencers.
Although there have been ethical codes that professional advertisers have been trained to hold themselves accountable to, those rules don't really seem to apply anymore since, quite literally, anyone can promote a product or service however they'd like to go about it.
Recently, celebrities and laypeople alike are starting to find themselves in some hot water over how they go about sharing the products and services that they say are so great. The Federal Trade Commission is starting to enforce the rule that anyone who shares an opinion about a product or service must disclose whether or not they will be receiving compensation for said opinion through a short verbal statement and/or hashtags placed at the top of their post.
Even though this may seem like a small step toward regulating these advertisements, it is important that steps like these are made. Many of these people have thousands or even millions of "followers" who look to them for advice to better their lives in some way. For those people to deceive their viewers is extremely unethical, and we must come up with a way to never cause harm if it can be helped.
Hey Amanda! Great post :D You bring up some really interesting things about sponsored content.
ReplyDeleteI agree that by bringing money into the social media sphere, it can muddy the water a bit. With sponsored content or reviews, one might wonder how genuine is it, how much of a tilt is put on it? How many fingers are being put on the scale?
Even if someone receives a product or other benefit, not necessarily money, it's possible that they are influenced to leave a good review. I agree that it is a step in the right direction to specify when a post is sponsored, as it is more transparent.
Michaela T
mt019816@ohio.edu