Ozzy Osborne has had a tweet banned by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for failing to properly disclose that it was an advert for the PlayStation VR2 headset.
Posted on 20 February, the tweet read: “Did this spot with @Playstation team. We had a lot of fun. Their new VR2 is really amazing.”
The tweet also included a video of Osborne playing a game on the headset as his long-suffering wife Sharon tells him they need to pack their bags to fly back home to England. After displaying text saying: “FEEL A NEW REAL AVAILABLE 02.22.2023 PlayStation VR2” and smaller text that stated “PS5 console required,” the video cuts back to Osborne playing the game alone in an empty room.
Following a complaint, the slow-moving industry regulator took action. Sony defended the tweet, saying that the video featured across different media in the UK including TV, video on demand (VOD) and YouTube pre-roll placements. It also said that as it did not match the usual content posted by Osborne and featured the word “spot” in the tweet, Twitter users would be able to ascertain that it was, indeed, an advert for the VR headset.
But, the ASA felt that the tweet did not make clear its commercial intent upfront and was not obviously identifiable as an ad.
As such, the ad must not appear again in the form complained about and the ASA told Sony, Sharon and Ozzy that they must use #ad or similar in their comms going forward.
Closer to home, creator marketing and celebrity endorsements are coming under increased scrutiny. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) recently carried out a sweep of influencer marketing posts and found a raft of poor practice among the industry.
However, creator marketing agency Social Soup told B&T TV that there is plenty of good work in the industry and that certain bad players let the side down.
Lead image credit: Devon Christopher Adams
