Social Media Trends: UK Crackdown on Celebrities Endorsing on Twitter

The UK's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) announced on 10 January 2011 that it is cracking down on a social media trend involving celebrities and bloggers who use their online presence to promote products, particularly on Twitter without clearly stating their relationship with the brand. Apparently, celebrities are making a fortune from this social media trend by tweeting and endorsing products, while failing to mention that they are being paid to do so! The OFT has brought a case against a PR firm that was discovered to be paying bloggers to write effusively about its clients. In a press release the OFT said online advertising and marketing that did not disclose paid-for promotions were "deceptive" under fair trading rules and "includes comments about services and products on blogs and micro blogs such as Twitter." The OFT's action will be sending a ripple through the industry.

Celebrity twitter endorsements are already big business and a social media trend in the US and the US Federal Trade Commission insists that such endorsements must contain the words 'ad' or 'spon' to show the reference is paid.

Range Rover became one of the first companies to dip its toe in to this social media trend when it signed up 40 stars to drive the new Evoque 4x4 and tell their followers about the experience. Complementary tweets about the cars have appeared on Twitter. In November, fashion designer Henry Holland, who has 133,035 followers, tweeted, 'CAN'T WAIT FOR MY NEW RANGE ROVER... !!!' - November 24. 'It's the dream! Waiting for me in the car park! - December 2. A Range Rover spokesman has stated that the company had an arrangement with certain celebrities, saying, "We have a number of schemes for VIPs where we can enter into a contract for certain returns in return for them driving our vehicles. We enlisted the help of a number of people with high profiles on Twitter. They get the loan of a vehicle which they can use, drive around and take pictures of it." When asked if the loan of the vehicles was subsidised, the spokesperson said, "It's not free but we can't disclose the figures of how much individuals pay because it depends on their contracts and what we're asking them to do. Under the terms of the deal they Tweet. That's the idea. They Tweet about the car."

There is little doubt that celebrity endorsements will become a fast social media trends in the UK and could follow the US where the number of followers a celebrity has determines how much their 'advertising space' is worth. Celebrities endorsing products will need to be honest and open; this is part of the rules of engagement for online marketing; it's all about being transparent and part of the conversation. When people are open it works; it's when personalities endorse covertly, it smears everything. I am sure that twitter users themselves will be good judges; people can see through things and having a twitter force against you is powerful.

Photo Credit: Christhomson