FTC Asked to Investigate Use of Influencers to Market Vodka

Earlier this week, Truth in Advertising (or ​“TINA​.org”) sent a letter to the FTC urging the Commission to investigate Diageo’s use of influencers to market Ciroc vodka on Instagram. According to the letter, TINA​.org collected more than 1,700 Instagram posts across 50 different influencers — including Ciroc brand manager and CMO Sean ​“Diddy” Combs — in which the influencers allegedly failed to disclose their connection to the company in a clear and conspicuous manner.

This is not the first time that consumer groups have pushed the FTC to investigate influencer campaigns. And if this is like any of the previous pushes, it’s likely that some of the posts don’t actually violate the law. For example, some groups have misstated the legal requirements in this area and have identified posts that didn’t violate the law. That led the FTC to send warning letters to individuals who actually had no connections to the brands mentioned in their posts. Nevertheless, there are various examples in this letter that may be problematic and potential targets for enforcement.

Apart from the endorsement issues, the letter goes on to describe other problems with the content of the posts, including ​“kids in Ciroc ads, Ciroc-fueled misogynistic ads, a recipe for cannabis-infused strawberry lemonade with Ciroc, and even a booze-drinking Santa who needs to spread the ​‘liquid love.’” (There is also an image of a toddler holding a baby bottle of Ciroc.) To make matters worse, the influencers did not use age-gating features, so that minors were able to view the ads. As TINA​.org points out, these practices are likely to violate the Distilled Spirits Council’s Code of Responsible Practices for alcohol ads.

TINA​.org has asked the FTC to investigate Diageo and to take appropriate enforcement action.

It’s too early to tell what will happen here, but it will be interesting to see how the FTC reacts. Although companies that market age-restricted items should pay particular attention, this action holds lessons for any company that works with influencers. If you haven’t evaluated how your company manages influencer campaigns recently, now may be a good time to do that.