Who Got Social ‘Influencer’ Letters From the FTC? Read the List.
Hormel was responding on behalf of its subsidiary CytoSport. The company was among others—including Dunkin’ Donuts, Chanel, Adidas and Cabela’s—that received a letter from the FTC as part of the agency’s effort to ensure proper disclosures in so-called “influencer marketing. The agency has cracked down on the growing advertising trend, in which brands pay celebrities and others with large followings to promote products on their social media accounts.
Toeniskoetter did not respond to an interview request. He explained in his letter that the public relations firm Azione PR Inc. had hired Agdal “for the limited purpose” of raising awareness of the launch of the Muscle Milk Coffee House Series line of protein shakes.
“Because of the limited engagement, she was hired through our agency (Azione) instead of directly by CytoSport,” he wrote. “As a result, her contract did not include our standard language regarding ensuring proper disclosures in social media. We are working with Azione and our other outside agencies to ensure all agreements with influencers have requirements on proper disclosures going forward.”
Azione could not be reached for comment Friday.
The FTC in some of the letters gave suggestions for how companies could make clear disclosures of paid endorsements.
For instance, in its letter to FabFitFun, a subscription delivery service that supplies beauty and fitness products, the FTC called attention to Instagram posts by Jenni Farley—the “Jersey Shore” star better known as JWoww—and Jamie Lynn Spears that included the hashtag “#fffpartner.” The FTC took issue with the placement of that hashtag—an apparent attempt at disclosure—at the end of the caption and also questioned if consumers would understand “#fffpartner.”
Chris Lipp, the company’s general counsel, embraced the advice, according to a letter obtained through the FOIA request.
“We have considered and appreciate your suggestions to use the hashtag #FabFitPartner and to require our influencers to make this disclosure at or nearer the beginning of their posts, and we will be implementing your recommendations in our influencer agreements and guidelines,” Lipp wrote in a letter to Engle dated April 4. Lipp did not respond to an interview request.
The NLJ requested copies of responses sent to Engle, who wrote not only to companies but also celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez and Nicole Polizzi—the “Jersey Shore” star better known as Snooki—Lindsay Lohan, Heidi Klum, Victoria Beckham and the country music star Luke Bryan. The NLJ’s request turned up no records of correspondence from any celebrities or their representatives.
FTC attorney Michael Ostheimer told the NLJ on Friday that the agency learned some of the celebrities were not, in fact, paid to promote a product featured on their Instagram accounts. “Some influencers just posted on their own,” he said.
The records request did reveal emails about a conference call held between FTC officials and in-house lawyers at Johnson & Johnson, which received a letter concerning an Instagram post by the television personality Giuliana Rancic promoting Compeed, a blister treatment. Rosa Son and Paul Jeges, the two in-house counsel whose names and contact information appear in the email records, did not respond to an interview request.
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