San Francisco Citizen

Not too long ago Mars, Incorporated introduced a new “women’s candy bar” with an interesting, somewhat patronizing marketing campaign - read all about it here in a post from January 2009. But now that Fling’s available in stores, you can try it for yourself. And guess what, I’ve tried it myself, but I’ve got to be careful what I say because the United States Federal Trade Commission is working on new rules that would hold bloggers liable for the statements they make about products. Oh noes! This is no April Fools joke – it was written up on CBS5 Eye on Blogs, so it must be true.

Now it just so happens that a few weeks back, Mars, Inc. sent a dump truck full of Fling Bars over here and filled up three of my spare garbage cans (yes I put new liners in first) full of these Twix-like ”chocolate fingers.” Wow. First of all, they’re surprisingly good – lightweight and a little pricey for what you get but very tasty. Second of all, these Fling bars cure the skin disease excema! Cleared it right up – it was all gone by April 1st, can you believe it?!?

Mmmmmm…..fingers. Nothing wrong with the hazelnut version. Dee-lish:

Click to expand.

So, leave no doubt, I endorse Fling chocolate bars because they taste great (as well they should since they’re six times smaller than a regular chocobar) and also because they cure excema.

I must say, this encounter with viral marketing worked out much better than last time, when those phonies at Butler, Shine & Stern up in Marin County pulled their fake giant Indiana Jones Lego ball routine. Now let’s all hope I don’t get sued by the FTC.

I’ll keep you all posted!

“Advertisers in the US are bracing themselves for regulatory changes that they fear will curtail their efforts to tap into the fast-growing online social media phenomenon.

Revised guidelines on endorsements and testimonials by the Federal Trade Commission, now under review and expected to be adopted, would hold companies liable for untruthful statements made by bloggers and users of social networking sites who receive samples of their products.

The guidelines would also hold bloggers liable for the statements they make about products.

If a blogger received a free sample of skin lotion and then incorrectly claimed the product cured eczema, the FTC could sue the company for making false or unsubstantiated statements. The blogger could be sued for making false representations.

“This impacts every industry and almost every single brand in our economy, and that trickles down into social media,” said Anthony DiResta, an attorney representing several advertising associations.

Advertisers have significantly increased spending on social media and word-of-mouth campaigns, even during the recession. Through blogs and services such as Facebook and Twitter, companies are able to communicate more directly with consumers. Spending on social media marketing reached $1.35bn in 2007 and is expected to reach $3.7bn by 2011, according to the Word of Mouth Marketing Association.”