Over the weekend I was listening to the radio and learned that the Federal Trade Commission has introduced new guidelines for bloggers who review products. They must disclose any cash or in kind payment they receive that is connected to the endorsement. A link to the guidelines and the pertinent paragraph are below:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm
“The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service. Likewise, if a company refers in an advertisement to the findings of a research organization that conducted research sponsored by the company, the advertisement must disclose the connection between the advertiser and the research organization. And a paid endorsement – like any other advertisement – is deceptive if it makes false or misleading claims.”
So, if Rapha were to send me some gear to wear and write about, then I’d have to disclose that in the review. This seems perfectly fair to me as I’d certainly think about down playing any negatives in a review in the hope of getting more free stuff. We can all be tempted, which is why I have a policy of only reviewing stuff that I’ve bought with my own dollar. This doesn’t get over the inclination to review stuff well because to do otherwise would be an admission that I’d wasted my money, but I’m quite disciplined and definitely not proud so if something sucks I’ll tell you.
Filed under: Review
