Last week, TheDailyBeast featured an op-ed from millennial celebrity Lea Michele: Ladies, It’s Time to Bring Back Sisterhood!
No where in the 800-word essay does Michele mention that she is being paid by Allergan PLC to promote its #actuallySheCan campaign.
Because of the gifts my voice has given me, I have decided to use it to aid many campaigns and teachings that empower others. Most recently in campaigns like #ActuallySheCan—a movement that celebrates female ambition and champions the goals of the millennial generation. #ActuallySheCan praises millennial women for their successes and encourages them to believe in their individual and collective potential. It gives millennial women everywhere a chance to vocalize their aspirations and be themselves, and I am proud to be a part of it.
AND (gag)
The stories us [sic] women share can educate and influence the power of their peers. If millennial women come together and embrace campaigns like #ActuallySheCan they will find a place where they can be themselves, get information about their careers, relationships, health and wellness, and find advocates.
Michele links to the website in the last line of her essay. You won’t find anything there that definitively links the site to Allergan PLC. You will, however, find an ad for Lo Loestrin Fe birth control pill, one of the company’s flagship products.
Is this unethical?
You damn straight it is.
And it should be illegal, too. That’s because the FTC rules stipulate that when there is a connection between the endorser (in this case Michele) and the seller of a product or service (in this case, Allergan PLC), full disclosure is required.
Moreover, the website should also make it clear that it is a bought-and-paid for corporate campaign. It’s not a celebrity-decides-to-be-rah-rah and set up an organization to rally millennial women!
Back story
I stumbled upon the stealth campaign Wednesday via a retweet of a short post at HelloFlo.
Lea Michele launched a very inspiring campaign called #ActuallySheCan! Here are the deets: https://t.co/3Y6raTq8Df. pic.twitter.com/193Ctnvrxo
— HelloFlo (@helloflo) October 28, 2015
That post (and tweet) credited Michele with starting the campaign, based upon the essay at TheDailyBeast! Note: this blog post was written by a high school senior.
The piece is worth a read as it also introduces her new campaign #ActuallySheCan (emphasis added).
Even without the WSJ story (from July), it’s obvious that ActuallySheCan.com is corporate. Just check whois:
TheDailyBeast is part-and-parcel of the publishing universe (IAC) that is headed by Barry Diller. Once-upon-a-time, it was connected at the hip with Newsweek and Vanity Fair’s Tina Brown.
HelloFlo is an ecommerce company focused on women’s hygiene. Its web site content is suggestive of a news site aggregator.
The FTC on endorsements and testimonials in advertising
- Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising
- The FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking
Featured image via The Law for Affiliate Marketing: Disclosures
Found via Google image search // images labeled for reuse
Known for gnawing at complex questions like a terrier with a bone. Digital evangelist, writer, teacher. Transplanted Southerner; teach newbies to ride motorcycles. @kegill (Twitter and Mastodon.social); wiredpen.com