The Three Dirty Words A Company Involved in Cause Marketing Doesn't Want to Hear
George Carlin had seven dirty words. Spongebob Squarepants had 13 bad words (7 regular/6 sailor). And New York State has 6,942 dirty words that can't be used on vanity plates. But commercial co-venturers should be aware of three dirty words: Professional Fundraiser, Professional Solicitor, and Fundraising Counsel, because if...
Tapping Into a New Method of Cause Marketing
What do you do when your esteemed institution of higher learning has an alma mater which, in the words of one professor, could be interpreted as being "complicit with racism"? You do the right thing and engage the community to fix the injustice. This is exactly what Harvard University...
Guidance From Commercial Co-Venture Caselaw: A Unicorn of a Topic
There are not many court decisions concerning commercial co-ventures. In fact, there are perhaps five. This is far less than the number of decisions involving unicorns (seriously). Nevertheless, these few court decisions provide some guidance on how a court may look at claims involving alleged violation of commercial co-venture...
Hey That’s Me Drinking That Beer! UGC Rights at Issue in Beer/Photo Lawsuit
Kayla Kraft (no known relation to the cheese people) found herself on a Natural Light coaster with a fake handlebar mustache drinking a beer under the heading "Every Natty Has a Story." She apparently didn't like that story and just sued Anheuser-Busch , the makers of Natural Light beer...
Let's Review Some Tricky Commercial Co-Venture Issues
From a quick Google search I see articles citing "at least 22" states have commercial co-venture laws; "over 30 states have laws governing commercial co-ventures"; "currently 27 states define 'commercial co-venturer' in their solicitation laws"; "about 20 states" have commercial co-venture laws. You get the point. This can be...
One Whale of a Story $2MM Fishing Contest Prize in Dispute After Failed Polygraph Test
Fishermen(persons?) say that the strongest currents yield the biggest catch. Or at least I think they say that; I really don't fish. But there's a storm a brewing in Maryland federal court over a disputed $2.8 million first prize in the "world's largest billfish tournament," known as the White...
“You Are [NOT] a Winner” Consent Order Entered Against Printer/Mailer of Deceptive Prize Notifications
On February 9, 2017, a consent order was entered in favor of the FTC against the general manager of a company engaged to procure printing and mailing of deceptive prize notifications. The individual got laminated for $800,000 (subject to reduction). The lesson: anyone involved with deceptive prize/sweepstakes/contests mailings could...
Should Influencers Influence Cause Marketing?
To use or not to use a popular marketing tool? That is the question. Shakespeare, himself, opted for a popular marketing tool when he cast the famous tragedian, Richard Burbage, for the part of Hamlet. This was probably a good idea, since according to Wikipedia, the play "has been...
Will The Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016 Affect Contests and Sweepstakes? (Hint: Yes)
On December 14, 2016, the Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016 was passed to try to put an end to companies taking down nasty reviews about their products. Congress's way of telling companies: if you ask for it, you're gonna get it. The new law – effective March 14...
2016: The Year in Review
In case you missed it, here are some notable items from 2016 concerning sweepstakes, contests, and related promotional matters: Influencers, Native Advertising, and Endorsements 2016 kicked off with reaction to the FTC's new Native Advertising Rules which seek more transparency in sponsored stories/advertising. In March, in its first enforcement...
Throw Back Thursday Edition: Vintage Sweepstakes and Contest Ads, How Far We've Come
First, a short history lesson. The term "sweepstakes" dates back to the 15 th century in reference to a common game where everyone placed a "stake" and the winner "swept" up all of the stakes when he won. And how about this – the term "sweepstakes" (or "swoopstake") was...
A Trap for the Unwary: DMCA Safe Harbor Registration Alert
Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to take advantage of the safe harbor from copyright infringement liability, an online service provider (OSP) has to register and designate an agent with the US Copyright Office to receive "takedown notices" of user-generated content – the notices from the actual copyright...
Giving Tuesday: An Opportunity to Market for a Cause
I'll admit that I've been part of the people lining up in the wee hours of the morning waiting for the doors to open on Black Friday. I even (temporarily) lost my young son once even though I specifically instructed him to run toward the tv's. Luckily, my wife...
Condemnation, Litigation, Regulation, Legislation, Congratulation – Are NFL Ratings Down because of The Daily Fantasy Sports Crackdown?
Sports Illustrated recently had an article listing their experts' take on why NFL TV ratings are down an overall 11% from last year . Number 7 on their top 10 list was the Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) bans. Should the past year of condemnation, litigation, regulation and legislation lead...
Big Blue Fans Win Big Red Steaks: Promotions That Go Better (?) Than Expected
On Saturday (October 8), the University of Michigan eleven beat Rutgers by the lopsided score of 78-0. I don't know if the Wolverines were fed red meat before the game, but the fans in Ann Arbor are sure lining up for some at the local Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Prior...
Is It Really "The Best [Insert Product] You Ever Bought?" Amazon Limits Incentivized Reviews
When shopping online, we all want to know what lawnmower/backscratcher/egg timer is the best. Once we've found an array of options, many of us go right to the online reviews to see how others liked the product. Caveat emptor be damned, Ralph from Bensonhurst just loved the Handy Housewife...
There's No Such Thing as a "Free" Sample: FTC Provides Guidance on Advertising "Free" Samples Combined with Recurring Charges
On Tuesday (September 20, 2016), the FTC and Nutraclick entered into a consent order concerning Nutraclick's online offer for "free" samples of supplements and beauty products . The FTC alleged that Nutraclick failed to clearly disclose to people who requested the samples that they would be enrolled in a...
U.S.A! U.S.A.! - House Votes to Eliminate the "Victory Tax" on Olympic Prizes
Olympic prize awards are generally taxed like other prizes. Some lawmakers have seen this practice of taxing our Olympians as a "victory tax." On Thursday (Sept. 22, 2016), the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill exempting U.S. medal winners from paying taxes on the money they receive from...
Court Says Too Bad to Bad Online Reviews
Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal dismissed a lawsuit against Yelp! by a disgruntled business that received a one-star rating from a customer, upholding the protection provided to online providers under the Communications Decency Act (CDA). Douglas Kimzey, the owner of a locksmith business, received a review from...
Playing for Keeps: Daily Fantasy Football 2016
When the last online fantasy football game was played, the attorneys general of New York, Nevada and Illinois were throwing penalty flags, state legislators was huddling to set the next play, and the daily fantasy sports leagues were taking it on the chin. Where are we now? Here's a...
Please Don't Endorse Our Product Anymore: The Morals Clause Edition
Unless you've Rip Van Winkled for the past month, lost your television/iPhone/iPad, or simply given up on international competitive athletics to instead focus on the Cubbies' chase for an elusive World Series Crown, you know that US Olympic Swimmer Ryan Lochte's "over exaggeration" will cost him over $1 million...
Pinterest Revises Promotion Guidelines
Recently and without fanfare, Pinterest revised its Promotion Guidelines in a few significant ways. The old Guidelines said you cannot "run a sweepstakes where each Pin, board, like, or follow represents an entry;" you cannot require people "to Pin from a selection;" and you cannot "require a minimum number...
Do You Really Like Me? Native Advertising Enforcement is On the Rise
On July 11, 2016, the FTC announced that it had settled charges against Warner Bros. that it paid online influencers to post positive game play videos for its new a video game Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor (Ed. note: whooo). (Further Ed. Note: I will continue to use the...
In Honor of the Olympics We Give You the International Sweepstakes Edition
In a twist that would make Alanis Morrisette sing, "Isn't It Ironic", last week the New York Times reported that a survivor of an Emirates airline crash landing in Dubai learned days later that he had won $1,000,000 in the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire Sweepstakes. http://nyti.ms/2bhMxkK For this...
Why is That in the Official Rules? What to Know When You Copy and Paste
According to Wikipedia, the term "copy-and-paste" refers to the popular, simple method of reproducing text from a source to a destination. We all do it. You may even do it to draft your Official Rules for a sweepstakes or contest. No need to re-create the wheel, right? But, to...
Competitive Video Gambling: The Secret Hobby Going on in Your Basement
Competitive video gaming is a somewhat recent attraction for (mostly) young adult boys and (mostly) men who think they are young adult boys. I've even seen my young adult son watch YouTube videos of other people playing video games. (Don't shame me as a parent.) Competitive video gambling is...
Enter to Win a Scholarship: Paying for College Through Games of Chance
For many young adults, college classes will be starting soon. For many anxious parents, college costs will be accumulating soon. Thank goodness you can try to bankroll tuition by entering the many available sweepstakes awarding "scholarship" money. For a student, college scholarship sweepstakes offer a simple alternative to actually...
I Wanna Help: Cause Marketing for Tragedies
A good brand's reaction to any human tragedy is to try to find a way to help. Most recently, we have seen an outpouring of support for the Orlando victims, and we can recall the many millions of dollars raised for Katrina, Haiti, Sandy Hook, 9/11, among, unfortunately, many...
You Might Not Be a Winner
I came across an article in the Dallas Morning News the other day titled " Campus carry group may offer 'cash prizes' to UT students who call out anti-gun professors. " Whoa! The regional director of the group Students for Concealed Carry is quoted as saying "One of the...
The Cow Chip Raffle OR How to Turn Poop Into Loot: An Analysis of a Raffle Law
Imagine a football field roped off and sectioned into 500 marked squares. Imagine further a cow roaming free on this football field trying to find the perfect spot to leave a cow pie (that's farmer for poop). Imagine even further a lucky contestant who placed her money on the...
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