US comedian has managed to trick a host of TV stations into promoting a fake ‘sexual wellness’ blanket, as part of an expose into the world of sponsored content.
During his latest episode of Last Week Tonight, Oliver revealed he had created the ‘Venus Veil’ (complete with a website) and hired an actor to appear on local TV programs.
The Venus Veil advertises itself as ‘a discreet and convenient way to improve your sexual health’ and claims to use the ‘biological technique of magnetogenetics’ to ‘fix erectile issues and improve vaginal lubrication’.
To top it off, the technology behind the blanket is said to be created in Germany 80 years ago – around the time Adolf Hitler was head of state.
And while the blanket might sound completely ridiculous, for around $US2,000, Oliver and his team managed to convince three different broadcasters to air segments on news programs discussing the Venus Veil.
“Right now, it’s far too easy to make a ridiculous product that makes outlandish claims and get it onto local TV. And the reason I know that is, we did,” Oliver said. “We started a company called Venus Inventions and created something called the Venus Veil, an absurd medical product based on technology that absolutely doesn’t exist.”
You can see the spot below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G-oHtpHmo8
As well as embarrassing the networks, Oliver was attempting to highlight the problems with disclosure of sponsored content.
“And the FCC has rules requiring broadcast stations to announce when content has been sponsored or paid for in any way. Unfortunately, many local stations have either completely broken those rules or violated the spirit of them through a practice known as sponsored content,” where “advertising is blended directly into the broadcast,” he said.
There has been some fallout from the incident.
According to CNN, KVUE-TV in Austin and KMGH-TV in Denver – two of the stations caught up in the trick – are now reviewing their sponsored content processes.
A KVUE-TV spokesperson said that “while it is a commercial spot, it was an error to air it, and we are reviewing our processes, so this doesn’t happen again.”
