Word Of Mouth Advertising Online Gets Gagged

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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