Try it...You'll Like it

Trish Tierney (tt318700@ohio.edu)

YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT THIS PRODUCT! #lifechanging #worksfirsttime #greatinvestment #ad

We see these claims everyday now on social media and all over the internet. Products, goods and services, you name it and someone near and dear to you is advertising it.

By near and dear to you, I mean your favorite celebrity or athlete. Or, maybe they are not your favorite but they are popular, beautiful, handsome, well built or smart. If they use this product, it has to work, right? They look amazing and they are saying this product will make YOU look and feel the same.

I mean, if Kim Karsdashian uses it then it has to be fantastic, right? Well, think again. Sapna Maheshwari, from the New York Times, explains the new “trick” advertisers and Public Relations Consultants are using to market and advertise to consumers:

“In the case of Ms. West and her sisters, Khloé and Kourtney Kardashian and Kylie and Kendall Jenner, TruthinAdvertising.org, a nonprofit that fights deceptive advertising, asserted that dozens of Instagram posts from the sisters violated guidelines from the F.T.C. that say it should be “clear and conspicuous” to consumers if a person endorsing a product “has been paid or given something of value.” However, while the agency suggests putting “#ad” or “#sponsored” at the start of those kinds of social media posts, or providing verbal disclosures in videos, there are no hard and fast rules.”

Photo: New York Times

In the quote at the start of my blog, notice the placement of the hashtag #ad. And, in the photo above notice Kim Kardashian’s (or the sponsors) carefully placed hashtag for sponsor #sp at the end of her long post. Even though it is expected they put the ads or sponsors information at the start of the post, many do not. 

Are they still following the AAF and PRSA ethics codes? Unfortunately, they probably are. Both require honesty. Who is to say that Kim is not being honest? Maybe she used the product once, maybe she uses it daily. Can we prove or disprove her? And, can we prove she would have used the product even without a lucrative contract? 

More importantly, the ad does seem to follow one of the Principles in the AAF:

Advertisers should clearly disclose all material conditions, such as payment or receipt of a free product, affecting endorsements in social and traditional channels, as well as the identity of endorsers, all in the interest of full disclosure and transparency.

She did disclose it was a sponsored post by using #sp. Where she placed it may be questionable but there seems to be no set rule or standard as to requiring where it be placed. 

Is it dangerous to believe what we read from celebrities? Some say no because we should be able to make up our own minds. If someone says "Try it...You'll Like it", you should exercise your own caution. What happens if you don't?

Matthew Geiger, in an article on LinkedIn, points how that this type of advertising can be dangerous:

The most serious conflicts occur when unsafe or ineffective products and services are promoted by celebrities. Whether discussing Dr. Phil's endorsement of weight loss products based on body shape or the use of tobacco, celebrities can push consumers to purchase things that will not work or can cause harm. It is especially unethical when a celebrity endorsement is used to override expert opinion. When a celebrity interjects his or her non-expert opinion, it had better not undermine the opinion of more qualified individuals.

While there are set ethics codes in place, it is clear they do not cover this new form of advertising. Social Media has been around awhile but the landscape and how it is used changes daily. In order to be effective, the ethics codes need updated to keep up. Along with a strong enforcement, or at the very least-consumers realizing they need to think about what they are reading and determine if the product is right for them. #stoplookandlisten