Brands hoping to promote their products online through word of mouth marketing will have to be upfront that they are behind the campaign, under new UK consumer-rights restrictions that go into effect May 26. AdAge reports the new rules make it a criminal offense for brands to blog, use brand ambassadors or seed viral ads, while “falsely representing oneself as a consumer.” Bloggers who write about products for money, must also disclose they are being paid to do so.
A number of campaigns from high profile brands purporting to be from fans of the product have caused a backlash with consumers. Recently, Sony
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