In a recent article published in Bloomberg BNA’s Electronic Commerce & Law Report, Stacy Marcus discusses celebrity endorsements, FTC disclosures and other issues that social media marketers need to consider when advertising during major events such as the Super Bowl.
The Risks of ‘Native Advertising’
Kim Kardashian is notorious for setting Twitter trends with her fashion-forward tweets. But would a consumer buy the same product knowing she was paid up to $20,000 for tweeting it?
The term “native advertising” refers to when an advertiser masks ads as editorial content in an effort to market more seamlessly to consumers. The intent behind this practice is to make advertisements less intrusive and to associate a brand with an experience.
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Kim Kardashian Following in the Footsteps of Jackie O?
Jackie O, Better Midler and Vanna White are leading ladies who paved the way in “look alike” and “sound alike” lawsuits. Now, Kim Kardashian is stepping into the ring against Old Navy. The suit (Kardashian v. The Gap Inc., et al., case number 2:11-cv-05960), in the U.S. District Court for the Central District
A Tweet Silences the Aflac Duck – A Case Study in Celebrity Agreements
Gilbert Gottfried is looking for gainful employment, and Aflac is looking for a new voice-over man. Gottfried was terminated Monday as the voice behind Aflac’s iconic duck when he tweeted jokes and one-liners over the weekend about the recent crisis in Japan that Aflac determined to be tasteless, inappropriate and insensitive. “Gilbert’s recent comments about
Hollywood – Wake Up!
If you’ve entered into a celebrity endorsement agreement lately, you’re not alone in being amazed that, while we’re all feeling the brunt of a recession (even though prognosticators tell us it’s over), celebrities (or more often their agents), seem to be getting greedier than ever.
It’s bad enough that the typical annual fee for a
Chilly Reception at the White House
On January 6, 2010, The Weatherproof Garment Company (a division of David Peyser Sportwear) put up a billboard (actually two, a diptych) in New York’s Times Square. The advertiser used an Associated Press (AP) licensed photo of President Barack Obama during his visit to China’s Great Wall back in autumn wearing a Weatherproof jacket. Legal
Advertising Fake Drugs May Result in Criminal Liabilities in China
This post was written by Michael Dardzinski.
The Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate on May 27, 2009 jointly issued “Interpretations on Several Issues Regarding the Application of Law on Criminal Cases Concerning the Production and/or Sale of Fake and Substandard Drugs” (“Interpretations”) to address the serious crimes of manufacturing and selling counterfeit and/or
Allocation Dispute Procedures
We have received some questions on how existing allocation disputes in multi-service celebrity endorsement deals should be resolved in light of the procedures adopted in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (“CBA”).
As you are fully aware, the determination of appropriate allocations of compensation between covered and non-covered services in multi-service contracts and the process to
Celebrity Endorsements – The Devil Really is in the Detail
Recent headlines about celebrities raise important issues that advertisers and advertising agencies need to think about in negotiating endorsement deals – an early exit strategy, a meaningful morals clause, and a well-defined exclusivity provision. These issues are often thought of as mere boilerplate that are easily deleted or compromised. And while such clauses are rarely used to terminate an agreement, when an advertiser is faced with the situation, the financial cost and impact on brand reputation highlights why such clauses, despite an agent’s protestations, should not be taken lightly in negotiations.
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Actress Charlize Theron Settles With Watchmaker
Actress Charlize Theron has settled a lawsuit brought against her by watchmaker Raymond Weil (RW) for breaching a contract to exclusively promote its watches. The terms of the settlement were undisclosed, but it came just more than a month after a federal judge in New York concluded that Theron had breached her agreement, and that Raymond Weil was entitled to prove to a jury that it sustained damages.
In 2005, Theron, who was named by Esquire Magazine as “The Sexiest Woman Alive,” signed an agreement to promote Raymond Weil’s “Shine” collection through advertising and by wearing the watches exclusively. However, during the contract term, she was photographed at a screening of a film produced by her production company wearing a Dior watch.
A photograph of Theron wearing the Dior watch made its way to Tourneau LLC, a major watch retailer and manufacturer, which published the photo in Tourneau Times, a publication the company distributes to high-spending customers. The caption under the photo read, “Charlize Theron wears Dior.”Continue Reading Actress Charlize Theron Settles With Watchmaker