Many celebrity endorsement products encountered "overturn" caused a hot discussion
Who should pay the bill if the public endorses the product
□ Our reporter Han Dandong
□ Lin Yinting, an intern in this newspaper
Recently, Aiqianjin's products have been filed by the police due to overdue and non-repayment of loans due. Many investors boarded the Weibo hot search for "begging for money" on the platform. As public opinion fermented, public figures such as Wang Han and Liu Guoliang, who had come to the stage for love money, were pushed to the cusp of public opinion.
On July 5, Liu Guoliang, who was once the "Happy Experience Officer" who loved Qianjin, apologized to the public through the media, saying that he would do his best to actively communicate with the platform, government regulatory departments, and judicial departments to legally and compliantly with everyone. Push things forward in a good direction. On July 2, Wang Han, who was the spokesperson for Aiqianjin, also issued an apology statement, saying he would actively follow up on this matter.
A few days later, another netizen revealed that the wealth management product Netlibao, endorsed by Du Haitao, had overdue payments in 2019, causing investors on the platform to lose their money. It is reported that the police conducted an investigation in this case in May last year.
A number of celebrity endorsement products encountered "turnover", which once again sounded the alarm for celebrity endorsement. Today, many manufacturers have long used celebrity endorsements as a means of promoting products, occupying the market, and gaining market credibility, but if the product thunders involve some legal issues? In response, reporters from the Legal Daily conducted interviews.
Public endorsement products
Due diligence
There are not a few problems with the products of celebrity endorsements. There have also been many cases where the products of celebrity endorsements "turn over".
Regarding whether the celebrity endorsement will affect consumers' consumption decisions, a reporter from the Legal Daily interviewed many citizens at random, most of them said that celebrity endorsements have a certain influence on their consumption decisions, but whether to buy in the end depends on themselves Demand, public reputation.
However, many interviewees said they "will definitely affect". Sophomore Xue Li (a pseudonym), a sophomore student at Beijing University, told the Legal Daily reporter: "As long as it is a cheap product endorsed by I Love Bean (Idol), I will basically try it. Generally, products with similar performance will also prefer stars. Endorsement, after all, celebrities are willing to advertise it, and should be more trustworthy than other products."
Although Xue Li has always supported her idol, she has also encountered unsatisfactory products. "I once bought an air cushion for the perfect diary endorsed by Aidou. It is said to create milk muscles, zero makeup, and delicate fit. However, I feel that it is not breathable during the use, and it is also boring, but this may also be Personal skin problems." Xue Li said.
Xue Li said that she prefers the "Amway" (shared, recommended) products of celebrities to the products endorsed by celebrities. Most of the endorsements stand on the position of the operators, and they will charge high endorsement fees. The products of celebrity endorsements may not be used in daily life. "Amway" is relatively low in commercialization, and stars may only share if they think the product is really good.
As a public figure, there is nothing wrong with endorsement of some products, but what are the obligations before deciding to endorse a product?
In this regard, Wu Jingming, associate professor of economics and law at China University of Political Science and Law, said that as public figures, they should not only use money or profits for their purposes. They must make endorsements on the basis of obtaining legitimate interests. Before endorsement, you must fulfill a considerable "duty of attention", that is, through various channels and in various ways to understand whether the product to be endorsed is potentially socially harmful, to understand whether the product to be endorsed conceals significant information, and whether there is false The elements of propaganda must be noticed. Such as wealth management products, the promised return rate is very high, and there is no clear investment risk. Whether the return can be achieved and how to avoid the risk is the first concern of the spokesperson.
Zheng Ning, director of the Law Department of the Cultural Industry Management School of Communication University of China, pointed out that the Advertising Law clearly stipulates the corresponding responsibilities of advertising spokespersons. The Consumer Rights Protection Law and the Food Safety Law also stipulate that for individuals to consume in false advertisements or other false propaganda If a person recommends a product that harms the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, they must bear legal responsibility. These provisions should attract the attention of artists. Advertising spokespersons recommending and certifying products and services in advertisements should be based on facts and comply with the provisions of the Advertising Law and relevant laws and administrative regulations, and must not make recommendation certificates for unused products or services that have not been received.
Zheng Ning said that public figures should fulfill their obligations in at least three aspects before endorsement of a product: First, they should pay attention to examining whether the endorsement product is a qualified product. When negotiating cooperation with the brand, the brokerage company should pay attention to requesting the other party to provide endorsement products such as product quality certificate, product qualification certificate, product inspection/test report and other supporting documents, and can clearly require the brand side to endorse the product quality in the endorsement contract. Make commitments and guarantees;
The second is to check whether the product ingredients, performance and efficacy of the endorsement products are authentic. If an artist wants to speak with confidence, he should try the endorsement products in person before the endorsement, and avoid products that are obviously unreasonable, contrary to natural laws, or have potential safety hazards;
The third is to check whether there are special precautions for the use of endorsement products. Artist brokerage companies or artists can request the brand to provide endorsement product instructions, user manuals, etc.
Knowingly endorses false advertising
Joint and several liability
When there are problems with the products endorsed by public figures, what are the responsible subjects involved? Are public figures as endorsers responsible?
In this regard, Wu Jingming said that the Advertising Law has clear provisions on the responsibility of advertising spokespersons. If there is a problem with the product, especially if there is a problem with the advertisement, the responsible parties are the advertiser, ie, the operator; the producer of the advertisement, such as an advertising company; the publisher of the advertisement, namely, various media; and the advertising spokesperson. These entities are responsible for any losses caused to consumers by false advertising. There is a special provision in the advertising law regarding advertising spokespersons: if the products spoken by the advertising spokesperson are related to human life and health, as long as the false advertisements are endorsed, regardless of whether it is subjectively intentional or negligent, it shall bear joint and several liability; if the product spokesperson for the advertising spokesperson It has nothing to do with life and health. In general, it is not liable. However, if the spokesperson knows that he is a false advertisement or speaks without knowing it, then he or she also needs to bear joint and several liability.
Wu Jingming introduced that joint and several liability refers to civil liability, that is, property liability. In addition, the spokesperson also has to bear administrative responsibilities. For example, the law clearly stipulates that the illegal income of the spokesperson, that is, the endorsement fee, should be confiscated, and a fine of one to two times the illegal income can be imposed. In addition, the relevant departments can also order them not to endorse any commercial advertisement within 3 years.
So, what are the criteria for public figures to intentionally endorse fake products?
In this regard, Zheng Ning bluntly stated that the most important one is to see whether public figures are at fault in the process of endorsement. When measuring the faults of celebrities, the duty of attention of ordinary people should be used as the standard for judging the duty of cautious review. Even if the celebrity does not intend to make an endorsement, it still needs to bear civil and administrative responsibilities in the false advertising of goods or services related to the consumer’s life and health; only in the false advertising of products or services not related to the consumer’s life and health, the star can be exempted To assume legal responsibility.
Zheng Ning said that Article 28 of the Advertising Law clearly defined “false advertising” and used the method of enumeration to illustrate the situation of being included in the scope of “false advertising”. Therefore, when choosing an endorsement product, an artist brokerage company or an artist should fully perform the duty of cautious attention of the artist as a spokesperson. If a celebrity makes false or misleading content statements in endorsement advertisements, or there is a situation of deceiving or misleading consumers, it shall bear legal responsibility for the false advertisement products endorsed by individuals.
Consumers are deceived and misled
Advertisers are inseparable
When there are problems with the products endorsed by celebrities, what can consumers do in addition to normal rights protection?
In this regard, Zheng Ning said that in accordance with the provisions of Article 56 of the Advertising Law, publishing false advertisements to deceive or mislead consumers, and thereby damage the legitimate rights and interests of consumers who purchase goods or receive services, the advertiser shall bear civil liability according to law . If an advertisement operator or advertisement publisher cannot provide the real name, address and effective contact information of the advertiser, the consumer may request the advertisement operator or advertisement publisher to compensate first. Therefore, if false advertising deceives consumers by misleading them so that their legitimate rights and interests are harmed, consumers can demand advertisers to take responsibility through litigation. If the operator of the advertisement and the publisher of the advertisement cannot provide the real name, address and effective contact information of the advertiser, compensation shall be paid to the consumer first. At the same time, according to the provisions of the Consumer Rights Protection Law, if an operator provides goods or services with fraud, it should increase compensation for the losses suffered by the consumer according to the consumer’s requirements. Three times the cost.
"In addition to litigation channels, consumers can also safeguard their rights and interests through reconciliation, mediation and complaints. For example, consumers can find the contact information of the responsible person, reflect the problems encountered, and see if the other party can provide a satisfactory solution. The plan may either request mediation by relevant organizations such as consumer associations, or punish or rectify violations by administrative agencies," Zheng Ning said.
In Wu Jingming's view, in today's market economy environment, there is a direct positive correlation between product sales and advertising promotion, that is, the more aggressive the advertising campaign, the greater the influence of the spokesperson, the better the product sales, and the more social trust will be achieved. high. As a consumer, you may buy a certain product because you believe in a spokesperson. Maybe it is not the spokesperson that you will not buy or even know about this product, but after you buy it, you find that it has caused serious misleading. In this case, consumption The person may therefore require the spokesperson to assume corresponding responsibilities, seek compensation or complain to the relevant department, and request the relevant department to take an administrative treatment of the spokesperson. As consumers, they should have rights awareness, actively protect rights through legal channels, and hold parties accountable.