Multiple posts shared by ex-MAFS bride Martha Kalifatidis have copped complaints claiming she has not made it clear enough that she’s spruiking prods.
As pointed out by Tim Burrowes’ newsletter Unmade, two posts made by Martha, one on behalf of leisurewear brand Stax and the other for pilates company Fluidform, were flagged by Ad Standards.
With Martha’s Stax post, the complainant wrote that “it is not fair to vulnerable followers when she doesn’t disclose that she is being paid to promote a product.”
As for the Fluidform post, the issue there was that the post was “not forthcoming with audience that she is paid to promote Fluidform pilates.”
In Burrowes’ newsletter, he opined that “although the identity of complainants are kept confidential, the similar reference numbers of the two complaints indicate they came in close together, which suggests they might have been from the same person.”
The watchdog ultimately ruled in the Stax case that “the panel considered that the focus of the video and audio on presenting the product, combined with the direct link to the brand page, information on orders, use of a discount code and tagging of the brand all combined in a way which meant that the commercial nature of the post was clear.”
As for the Fluidform post, the panel similarly wrote that “the focus of the video and audio on presenting the product, combined with the direct link to the brand page, use of a discount code and tagging of the brand all combined in a way which meant that the commercial nature of the post was clear. The Panel considered that the relationship between the advertiser and influencer was apparent.”
Since then, Burrowes has pointed out that Martha Kalifatidis now goes for “greater transparency,” as her subsequent paid posts have included both the paid partnership and ad tags.
The aforementioned posts were also later edited to include the appropriate tags, as they bloody well should.
