What We Should Learn From Sony's Fake Blog Fiasco
Sony and agency Zipatoni have come under fire for one of their
marketing tactics for the Sony PSP. Sony has added its name to a
growing list of flogs [fake blogs] including McDonald's, WalMart and Lonely Girl 15, that are being called out by consumers.
This isn't the first time Sony has been caught and questioned about the ethics of its marketing practices.
Back in December of 2005, the brand came under fire for a graffiti tactic that was used as a disguise for its marketing efforts. Neighborhoods spoke out against the company for using what some consider vandalism to sell a product and graffiti artists cried foul for "duping" people passing by.
This time the wrath comes from a blog titled alliwantforxmasisapsp.com (which has apparently been taken down by Sony) that featured two guys trying to spread the word about convincing family members to get one of them a PSP for Christmas. Except the whole thing wasn't really a blog -- a fact revealed by cyber sleuths who looked up the domain's registration file. It was all just an advertising ploy. Once this news broke, it only took a matter of hours for the word to spread and the rapid fire comments and responses began.
I'm sure the one thing Sony did NOT expect was the amount of active
bashing of the brand [and the site] that has virally spread over every
gaming site and marketing blog out there. Top gaming site Penny Arcade
had this to say,
"Unwilling to let an increasingly savvy portfolio of titles speak to
gamers directly, they chose instead to bring aboard guerilla marketing
gurus Zipatoni to do irreparable damage to their brand."
Read the full text here...Noelle Weaver
December 18, 2006
Source: Advertising Age