do you know any websites/ads that are run by a company but isn't obvious about it?

[bambam2]

do you guys know any websites or flyers or things like that that are run by a company that disclose it in the fine print but otherwise not that overtly?

[15-20_God]

you mean the advertising equivalent of a thai ladyboy?

[5dark]

BrandPower (http://www.brandpower.com/can/)

It's semi-obvious they shill for specific companies but they make it seem like they're informing consumers..

They really just advertise for whoever pays:
http://www.brandpower.com/can/what_is_brand_power.asp

They don't help anyone buy better.

[appleb]

BrandPower (http://www.brandpower.com/can/)

It's semi-obvious they shill for specific companies but they make it seem like they're informing consumers..

They really just advertise for whoever pays:
http://www.brandpower.com/can/what_is_brand_power.asp

They don't help anyone buy better.

Semi-obvious? I thought the intention is perfectly clear that the promoted company is paying for the airtime. Rather than spend millions on an advertising campaign, they put out a quick and to the point commercial.

[5dark]

It's pretty obvious to you and me but they way it's presented is manipulative IMO. "Helping you buy better" is pretty misleading for a sponsored advertisement.

And there's this confusing article... it highlights the effectiveness in Brand Power in convincing people it's fair and balanced but it's issued by Brand Power itself... http://www.biz-community.com/Article/196/87/6252.html

If I find other articles I will reference them.

[UncleSteve]

If I find other articles I will reference them.

Here's an article critical of Brand Power (written by a marketer):

http://www.onedegree.ca/2007/06/brandpower-ever.html

[stealth]

Ebay and Kijiji/paypal?

[bambam2]

hmm..more specifically, i'm talking about something like the following:

Cell Phone Consumer Report

best cell phones Bell

Bell this and that etc


...

in small print, "this site is owned by Bell". To the common person it would seem like a third party site but its actually owned by Bell.

[stealth]

Here's an article critical of Brand Power (written by a marketer):

http://www.onedegree.ca/2007/06/brandpower-ever.html

Another marketing genius who just doesnt get it. He doesnt give the general public enough credit. Its obvious to anyone but the most feeble-minded that BrandPower is not CBC's Marketplace or some other unbiased reviewer of consumer products, in the same way its obvious that nobody buy commercial airtime for the purpose of this without having a vested interest in the success of the product.

The real value of Brand Power to vendors, is that they (BP) buy up airtime in bulk, and can distribute it any way they want, thus alleviating the usual minimum number of spots, and other factors that a company normally has to deal with in order to get exposure for their product. So if you are Company A and you have 2-3 new products, none of which have advertising budgets for full nationwide campaigns, you can deal with Brand Power and pretty much pick and choose how many LOW BUDGET no frills style commercials you want for each of them, and when and where you want them played.
Thats why you rarely see big name products (e.g. Kraft dinner, Kool-Aid, Kit-Kat Bars) on BrandPower. these products can support large marketing campaigns already.
BP is the middleman, sort of the way various small ISP's re-sell internet bandwidth on Bell's infrastructure.

[Impossibles]

RFD is actually run and owned by Futureshop.

Derek is the guy in the little window on the FS site.

I thought everybody knew this? The color scheme is obvious.

[5dark]

Sorry stealth but I have to disagree. If the value is to vendors why isn't it "Helping you sell better"?

Manipulative marketing is nothing new and I may be cynical but this is a good example of that.

Telling me they help me buy better gives me the impression they're on my side. The wording of the commercials follows the same pattern.

Most marketing people already know: people do believe what they see on TV.

[stealth]

Sorry stealth but I have to disagree. If the value is to vendors why isn't it "Helping you sell better"?

Manipulative marketing is nothing new and I may be cynical but this is a good example of that.

Telling me they help me buy better gives me the impression they're on my side. The wording of the commercials follows the same pattern.

Most marketing people already know: people do believe what they see on TV.
You dont have to agree, and I respect our differences in opinion.

But remember every company thinks their advertising is helping you buy (their products) better. Because they all believe they are offering the best value in their market segment. Thats why they all use vague superlatives like "leading product" which are almost undefinable. I dont see how Brand Power is different, other than it appears to be a 3rd party doing it.

But again, anyone who thinks that a 3rd party will spend money out of their own pocket to promote another companies products that they supposedly believe in, without financial compensation, is stupid beyond belief.

Look, I LOVE Nutella. Cant get enough of it. But I will never spend my own money to buy airtime telling the country how great Nutella is, without the expectation of financial compensation from Nutella. Thats just common sense.
If anyone sees me evangelizing on tv for Nutella during a regularly scheduled commercial break, even though I am not directly employed by Nutella, is ******** if they think I am doing it as a public service, and not being financially compensated.

What you and the blogs author are suggesting is that the Canadian public are semi-morons who dont get this basic concept of advertising. In which case one can suppose that they probably also havent figured out that the people in commercials are....gasp...paid actors, who may have never used Viagra, or felt "unfresh" before, or whatever other problems these products solve and result in these unusually attractive "ordinary" people to be glowing and rejoicing and high-fiving one another in celebration of the products they are telling us about.
I personally dont think the Canadian public is that dumb.
We dont need to be told explicitly that its an ad for us to get the idea.

[5dark]

I don't think people will assume it's a third party advertising without compensation, but I would think they're trying to be more reminiscent of old street cents segments, if anyone remembers those.

I think it's the ambiguity of the nature of these commercials that they rely on to mislead viewers and at the same time still remain "legit". But I suppose at the same time it's that ambiguity that would lead to our differences of opinion...

I hate to say it but people are easily fooled. Online loan scams, MLMs, Nigerian Princes, people who actually click spam links, those commercials with people who are in doctors clothing but never say theyre doctors, unfortunately people still fall for these. A friend once thought those flashy "you won a prize" links on warez sites were real.

I don't think they need to say outright it's a sponsored ad, but I see a deceptive intent there.

[pitz]

Yeah.. The pharmaceutical/medical industry is notorious for this. They'll set up websites, and start organizations, to promote 'awareness' of a made-up 'disease' they're treating, whether it be erectile dysfunction, ADHD, diabetes, etc. For which, the only effective 'treatment' is often the product they sell, whether it be viagra, speed, or insulin.

[blainehamilton]

RFD is actually run and owned by Futureshop.

Derek is the guy in the little window on the FS site.

I thought everybody knew this? The color scheme is obvious.



LOL. Dance, Derek, Dance!

That was worth a good laugh...

[stealth]

Yeah.. The pharmaceutical/medical industry is notorious for this. They'll set up websites, and start organizations, to promote 'awareness' of a made-up 'disease' they're treating, whether it be erectile dysfunction, ADHD, diabetes, etc. For which, the only effective 'treatment' is often the product they sell, whether it be viagra, speed, or insulin.

The thing about the pharmaceutical industry, is that in some ways they are actually treated worse than the tobacco industry when it comes to advertising. Ever notice how a prescription drug cant really say what it is supposed to cure in its commercial, yet any phony crap thats non-prescription can make also sorts of unscientific and ludicrous claims?

I've seen tons of commercials that show a sunrise or something ambiguous, and the the words "ask your Dr. if X is right for you" without giving a clue as to WTH "X" is. :confused:

And then products like "Extenze" for instance, or weight loss pills can get away with murder by making all sorts of outrageous, unsubstantiated claims due to non-regulation....vs. big pharm, which at least has to spend billions on r&d, scientific studies and get approval.

[stealth]

I don't think people will assume it's a third party advertising without compensation, but I would think they're trying to be more reminiscent of old street cents segments, if anyone remembers those.

I think it's the ambiguity of the nature of these commercials that they rely on to mislead viewers and at the same time still remain "legit". But I suppose at the same time it's that ambiguity that would lead to our differences of opinion...

I hate to say it but people are easily fooled. Online loan scams, MLMs, Nigerian Princes, people who actually click spam links, those commercials with people who are in doctors clothing but never say theyre doctors, unfortunately people still fall for these. A friend once thought those flashy "you won a prize" links on warez sites were real.

I don't think they need to say outright it's a sponsored ad, but I see a deceptive intent there.

Well I still dont think theres any ambiguity to a commercial, by definition.

When I see a string of 30sec commercials, the next 30sec spot I expect to be a commercial as well, Brand Power or otherwise. I have never seen a 30 sec "information alert" advising me of good products to buy by Street Cents, Marketplace or any other unbiased watchdog show during a commercial break, so not sure why anyone would be expecting one. Have you?

In this way, I see late night "infomercials" as being far more misleading/heinous, as it appears to be an actual tv program. If a gullible viewer as you describe werent watching at the beginning when they flashed a 5 sec advisory of it being a paid advertisement, then they wouldnt know it was.

In the end, fools and their money will be parted, no way to protect them completely.

[Stunt_101]

rogers and fido
telus and koodo
urban behaviour and costa blanca

[HammerRFDer]

Yeah.. The pharmaceutical/medical industry is notorious for this. They'll set up websites, and start organizations, to promote 'awareness' of a made-up 'disease' they're treating, whether it be erectile dysfunction, ADHD, diabetes, etc. For which, the only effective 'treatment' is often the product they sell, whether it be viagra, speed, or insulin.

I think you could've been more creative with your examples of made-up diseases :)