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Deceptive or smart? The LA Times’ Southland ad

By on April 13, 2009 in advertising, deceptive marketing, no trust

The LA Times got itself in some hot water last week, not once, but twice, for passing off advertising as news. On Thursday, it ran a mock news article promoting NBC’s Southland on the front page: View PDF version from the Wall Street Journal On Sunday, the L.A. Times ran a four-page ad for the [...]

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Is Belkin’s apology for astroturfing enough?

By on January 20, 2009 in authenticity, corporate responsibility, deceptive marketing, ethics, message responsible, social media, socially responsible, word of mouth

First, what’s “astroturfing?” Roughly, it’s when formal political, advertising, or public relations campaigns seek to create the impression of spontaneous “grassroots” behavior, hence the reference to the artificial grass, AstroTurf.* On Friday, The Daily Background Blog revealed that a Belkin employee was doing just that: Paying 65 cents for perfect reviews on Buy.com, NewEgg.com and [...]

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