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A comment on FTC to Crack Down on Paid Celebrity Posts That Aren’t Clear Ads. Parent comment

Re:FTC to Crack Down on Paid Celebrity Posts That Aren’t Cle... by jonhohle on Friday August 05, 2016 @10:44AM (#12232680)
I don't see a significant conflict of interest. Nothing stops a celebrity or influencer from saying they love Foo Brand Widgets. The FTC is saying in the context of a business transaction which involves a company paying another individual to say that they love Foo Brand Widgets, there must be disclosure. I could see not disclosing as a form of fraud. I also don't see it as significantly different from labels the FDA requires on food packaging.
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Re:FTC to Crack Down on Paid Celebrity Posts That Aren’t Cle... by joecool1029 on Friday August 05, 2016 @11:02AM (#12232821)
Is there any court precidence for cases of failure to disclose? Fraud is really a stretch...

Consider puffery: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puffery

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Re:FTC to Crack Down on Paid Celebrity Posts That Aren’t Cle... by blowski on Friday August 05, 2016 @11:19AM (#12232954)
If Company A Laptops secretly paid Mr Celebrity to say he only uses Company A laptops, and then I buy a Company A laptop because I want to use the same brand as Mr Celebrity, then I could argue that Company A have engaged in deceptive marketing. If they are up front about having paid Mr Celebrity, it seems to mitigate that a bit, because it's clearly a 'puff piece' (as your link says) instead of claiming to be true.

IANAL. Obviously. But that's my layman's take on it.

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Re:FTC to Crack Down on Paid Celebrity Posts That Aren’t Cle... by slang800 on Friday August 05, 2016 @06:42PM (#12236181)
I would argue that it's your fault for trusting Mr Celebrity to give you good laptop recommendations. If Mr Celebrity's reputation isn't crippled by making a bad recommendation or two then you're picking the wrong people to advise you.
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Re:FTC to Crack Down on Paid Celebrity Posts That Aren’t Cle... by sliverstorm on Friday August 05, 2016 @05:10PM (#12235774)
Are paid endorsements really puffery? Basketball players sponsored by Nike don't wear Nike shoes ironically.

(A comedy advert, like the Terry Tate: Office Linebacker campaign, seems closer to puffery)

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