Samsung has been cleared of its breach of Ad Standards’ Code of Ethics over a recent post by Nadia Fairfax-Wayne for their new Flip smartphone.
See original story here.
Samsung called for and got an independent review of the so called watch dogs decision.
Claims that Samsung had a “reasonable degree of control” over the influencer, despite the post being unpaid and not knowing it was coming was disputed by Samsung.
After the complaint was made, Ad Standards found the post to be in breach, stating “tagging the brand and use of hashtags referring to the brand and the product was not sufficient”.
The win now raises questions as to whether Ad Standards in a position to be judge and jury on social media marketing.
It’s been claimed that Samsung’s successful appeal may lead other brands appealing their case against the watchdog’s rulings over social media and influencer posts.
Samsung said it was “concerned by the broader implications” of the watchdog’s initial decision. Advertisers must have “reasonable degree of control” over the post, and Samsung argued while it had paid Fairfax-Wayne for posts before, this one was unpaid and it had no prior knowledge if it.
Also, the post was clearly distinguishable using hashtags, Samsung said, requesting a formal review. The original post was updated to include #BrandedContent after Ad Standards’ initial ruling.
Samsung argued there had been a “substantial flaw” in the community panel’s decision. The panel claimed the hashtag #WorkingWithSamsung could mean the trio were actually working, rather than that Fairfax-Wayne herself was working with the company.
“There is nothing in the post to suggest that Ms Fairfax was “completing work using a Samsung device” – the images featured in the Post are of Ms Fairfax with two other women attending Fashion Week,” Samsung stated.
