Should Bloggers be Concerned about Accepting Paid Posts?

Mar 8 2010 no comments Sponsored

This is a sponsored guest post written by Jeffrey Harris on behalf of TV Top Ten. Post powered by Sponzai.

Everyone is talking about the new FTC guidelines that dictate how commercials must now display testimonials and what bloggers need to know about being paid for their posts.  DRTV Marketers are concerned about what they can do to demonstrate the results of their product on air, while bloggers want to know what they need to do to avoid a hefty fine.  Not only do these guidelines effect DRTV marketers and bloggers, but also anyone who is being paid to endorse a product.

On October 5, 2009, the FTC announced its modifications to the guidelines – a long overdue change since 1980, when they were last updated.  Updates include warnings for showing weight loss testimonials, and the “before and after” images in print and television advertising. In the past, marketers who had no substantiation for their claims could either state what the expected results would be, or make the disclaimer of “results not typical”. Most marketers chose the latter, and it is something that has become a standard in many DRTV campaigns for decades.    

The guides were also updated to include bloggers (word-of-mouth marketers) and celebrity endorsements. Connections that consumers would not expect, such as compensation (given payment or free products) for posting an article on one’s blog, would need to be disclosed. If celebrities are being paid to endorse a product or service, they now need to disclose their relationships with advertisers when they are, for instance, on a talk show, or posting a note on Twitter.  Many people are concerned about how the language in the guides will be interpreted by the courts when a marketer or endorser is challenged.

Bloggers who receive compensation through paid-for blogging networks, such as PayPerPost.com, are also nervous about the changes. If they post a false or misleading claim without disclosure, the FTC could impose a fine of up to $11,000 per post. Before the FTC amendment, PayPerPost was already implementing the disclosure policy.

The FTC guidelines indicate that bloggers would not be called into question if “the blog functions solely as a medium of personal expression {…} for example, a magazine article or newspaper article that reviews a product is not an ‘endorsement’ for purposes of advertising law, so too is a blog that performs this same function. {…} The receipt of a free product sample for review purposes does not change this analysis either, provided that the product itself does not have a high value that would make its receipt material (e.g., a car), since the resulting editorial content  - good or bad – is not controlled by the marketer.”¹ If the blogger is provided a free product because the marker wants unbiased feedback, this is acceptable to the FTC. They are mainly looking to see if the post was really “sponsored” and a disclaimer was put in place if value was passed to the word-of-mouth marketer in return for a favorable promotion.

For example, if a company such as TVTopTen.com represents a diet product like Nutrisystem, they should disclose that they are a paid affiliate of Nutrisystem, even if they are comparing the pros and cons of the Nutrisystem program.  

To read the FTC guidelines, you can visit http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005endorsementguidesfnnotice.pdf

¹  http://www.ftc.gov/os/comments/endorsementguides2/539124-00018.pdf

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