ASA rules blog as ad
The Advertising Standards Authority has extended its long tentacles into the blogosophere for the first time. Radio station, TalkSport, added blog entries to multiple sports-fan blogs.
The ruling, under sections 7.1 and 22.1 of the CAP Code covering misleading ads and recognisable marketing and communications, found that TalkSport had deceived blog readers.
I think TalkSport were naive in not recognising that authenticity and integrity are supremely valued in the blogosphere, and in social networking in general (what goes around comes around). This is like black hat search engine optimisation - it’s unethical, and breaks the generally altruistic nature of the internet. But we don’t need nanny-state quangos policing the internet. Like the PCC, the ASA are desperately trying to find a raison d’etre in the new world.
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well done for getting a mention in the JEP, even if they put a rogue hyphen in :o)