Did you know that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has decided to take bloggers to task for a new form of advertising? The FTC is in the process of updating its "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising" for the first time since 1980. What does this mean? Well, the FTC is going to crack down on "word-of-mouth marketing." This type of marketing consists of advertisers paying bloggers to review their products. And by "pay" we mean the bloggers get free product samples, gift certificates for shopping sprees, cash, or a year's car loan. Yes, this is what some of the advertisers have paid bloggers for their "reviews."
Of course, the bloggers are "supposed to write whatever they want about the product," good or bad. But I'm guessing there are some bloggers out there that have a tough time writing something bad about a company that has given them a car for a year (not me, for the record ... so if any companies want to get a few last reviews in before the FTC strikes ... ;).
The problem is that any advertiser that pays for an "impartial" review cannot do this under the guise that they are not advertising. The FTC contends that the payment from the advertiser places this under the "jurisdiction of [the] FTC."
The government is looking to crack down on those blogs that do not look like advertisements. As the article notes, savvy consumers and Internet users can recognize an Internet ad and will be skeptical. However, the FTC wants to limit those incidents where a paid review doesn't look like a paid review. The FTC's proposed guidelines want to take away any "special license" both advertisers and bloggers feel simply because they are using the Internet.
It is high time this happened, as long as the FTC can wait until I complete a few more blogs -- hey, momma needs a new pair of shoes.
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