Cigarette makers plan U.S. Supreme Court appeal

The tobacco companies want to appeal against the new ruling regarding sales techniques and marketing approaches by cigarette-making companies. The new ruling requires the use of corrective statements on cigarette packages, in advertising and on the companies’ websites about the adverse effects of smoking.

The May 22 ruling, banning the use of expressions such as “light” and “low tar”, has been never so tough. According to the companies, this regulation affects badly the right of freedom of speech and it hampers the ongoing competition in the sector.
Another objection against the new ruling is the absence of a transitional period, which would force the companies to expend substantial and unrecoverable funds to follow the May ruling.


source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2915160620090929
Link to picture using the expressions of “light” or “low tar": http://www.euro-cig.com/gal_images/20060405114454.jpg

Author: Khan Arslan

The campaign for evolution


Unilever’s sensible TV-spot for the Dove Self-Esteem Fund won the ad World’s most prestigious award during International Advertising Festival.
The almost 1-minute during clip speaks silently but eloquently of our perception and misperception of beauty. The spot combines the idea of awareness with Dove’s slogan in the end “Take part in the Dove Real Beauty Workshops for Girls“. During the spot, the use of Photoshop has showed openly how a natural-looking woman can be changed into a glamorous billboard supermodel. Ironically, Unilever itself sell as well beauty products with Dove as a core brand but they have created the self-esteem fund to make people sensible for the real beauty of life and to avoid dreaming into a photo-shopped dimension.
Through winning the award, the efforts of Unilever also changed the way advertisers and their agencies think about the Internet and viral advertising. That has certainly to do with corrective advertising as Unilever succeed to make a satire on the way corporations and the media use attractive people to sell stuff.


Source: http://www.marketingmag.ca/english/news/agency/article.jsp?content=20070716_69978_69978
You can watch the ad on youtube, the link to it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vFvLhNWfZU
The TV-spot was so popular, that there also exists a parody on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV8JardV74w&feature=fvst

Author: Khan Arslan

Federal Court fines sports clothes maker $120,000

“Skins” , an Australian company whose main business is sportswear, has been fined $120,000 because of a violation of the Trade Practices Act. Skins claimed in a radio, television and newspaper campaign in 2005, that they did not pay sports stars to wear its products. Federal Court has revealed that the company made deals worth $1.5 million with sports stars and teams to wear the products. Skins also breached the Act by accepting benefits including written testimonials in return for more than $800,000 worth of products. The justice has ordered that it is also required to place corrective advertising because there was a clear public interest in knowing the full details.

link to this article:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/12/02/2435924.htm

Boris De Doncker

Corrective advertisements: punishment or extra publicity?

In 2008, Bayer falsely claimed in their ads that their birth control pill Yaz was suitable for treatment of acne and PMS. Therefore, the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) enforced Bayer to spend $20 million on corrective advertisements. The question rises if more ads for this pill really are a punishment. Nowhere in the advertisement is explicitly mentionned that the ad is a correction for previous misleading information. As a non-informed consumer, you will probably don’t realise that you’re watching a corrective ad. Conclusion: Bayer gets more publicity, and no one will know that they have been mislead before.

Source:
Pharmaceutical company behind Yaz forced to air corrective advertising

Dhoest Dave

Blogging about (misleading) blogs

Bloggers may mislead their readers by writing deceptive articles about specific brands. The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) warns that bloggers are being paid or getting free products by companies in order to write good reviews of their products by, if necessary, making false or misleading claims. This reviews written on blogs seem to be more effective than other forms of advertsing. According to recent studies, consumers show a growing confidence in consumer-generated-media and the recommendations of other consumers. Paid endorsements need to be clearly disclosed on the blogs, so the readers are aware that they are possibly reading a misleading blog. Otherwise, the bloggers can face fines up to $11.000 per violation.

Sources:
FTC Debates 'Traditional Media' vs. Blog Reviews; Demands Bloggers Disclose Freebies, Payments
Paid Blog Posts Create Misleading Content

Dhoest Dave

New study says corrective advertising hurts consumers trust in the whole industry

The study, Damage from Corrective Advertising: Causes and Cures, looked at the reasons why 89% of consumers are so suspicious of advertising. This study showed that using corrective advertising has given us, consumers, a lack of trust in the whole industry. “Damage from Corrective Advertising: Causes and Cures”, however, says that by giving a plausible explanation for the misleading claim through a press release, other negative reactions could be avoided. Still, advertisers have to ensure their claims are genuine instead of using other methods like word-of-mouth trough the internet to reach consumers and gain their trust.

Link to this article

http://www.marketingmag.ca/english/news/pr/article.jsp?content=20080821_144337_22360

Boris De Doncker

Coca-Cola issues corrective ads after misleading 'myth busters'

Last year, Coca-Cola South Pacific (CCSP) has published an ad named “Motherhood & Myth-Busting” where they claimed Coca-Cola was save for children. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ordered CCSP to correct their claims because they were misleading for consumers. They say consumers will get the impression that Coca-cola cannot contribute to weight gain, obesity and tooth decay. As a result of these complaints, CCSP will soon issue corrective advertisements all around Australia. Finally, CCSP was also told to include the correct levels of caffeine for Coca-Cola, Diet Coca-Cola (light) and Coca-Cola Zero; to exclude all other misunderstandings.

Link to the indicted advertisement:
http://www.parentsjury.org.au/downloads/Coca_Cola_Kerry_Armstrong_Oct_2008.pdf


Link to the original article:
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE5314HW20090402


Boris De Doncker