Well, this shouldn't surprise anyone, but Target corp. is getting lambasted all across blogdom for a little false viral advertising. If the consumer really believes a bunch of posts on Facebook that exclaim that Target is the best thing since sliced bread, they're just naive to begin with. Interesting though is the question of ethics raised by the intelligentsia. Kalle Lasn would have a hey day with this.
From the Star Tribune (click the title for the link to the article):
Target Corp. is learning the hard way that life in the blogosphere can put you right in the bullseye.
The Minneapolis-based discount retailer is being outed in online blogs and discussed in college ethics classes after students allied with the company were told to "keep it like a secret" while singing the company's praises on the social network site Facebook.com.
"Keep it a secret? That sounds unethical," said Rosie Siman, 21, a senior at the University of Georgia and a member of the Target Rounders. The group of mostly college students gets discounts, CDs and other prizes for marketing Target products to their friends and providing the company with feedback.
"You're essentially asking people to lie for you," Siman said. "People will be seeing all these posts saying, 'Target's awesome' and they don't realize they're coming from people who essentially are being paid to promote Target."
1 comment:
I'm pretty sure that Targetboutique may be the devil. But they are the devil wrapped up with a cute little bow.
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