Disclosure
Glamily users have the opportunity to participate in community events where they may receive complimentary products to review. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires that all such participants must clearly disclose in any reviews they produce that they received said products for complimentary testing purposes. More specifically, users must:
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Explicitly use the words “free” or “complimentary” in any captions.
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Use the appropriate hashtags outlined in the pages and emails of each individual Glamily campaign, which will be made available to participating members.
Failure by participating users to abide by these rules will result in a warning. Continued failure to abide by the rules will result in one’s being suspended from all future Glamily community events.
For reference, here are how these requirements would be applied to some common media formats:
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Video sites
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“I received this/these product(s) complimentarily from Glamily for testing purposes” should be explicitly stated and also copy-pasted word-for-word in the video’s about section.
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Instagram and similar social media platforms
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Captions must contain either the words “free” or “complimentary” in relation to how you received the product.
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Captions must include all hashtags for the specific Glamily campaign made clear to users by campaign pages and emails.
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Blog posts
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“I received these products complimentarily from Glamily for testing purposes” must be copy-stated word-for-word at the bottom of the blog post.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the FTC?
A: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the United States of America’s primary independent agency dedicated to consumer protection. As part of their mission, the FTC works to ensure marketers are fulfilling their responsibility to truth-in-advertising laws and standards.
Q: Should I disclose that I received a product for free?
A: According to FTC, anytime you create a “material connection” with a brand and post about their products, you must clearly disclose this connection with this brand in your posts or videos. This includes monetary payments from the brand but also, and this is where it’s important, the provision of free products.
Bottom line: you must let your audience know that you got these products for free.
You must do this for every collaboration and every time you post about a product. It’s not just about respecting the law, but also about being honest with your audience.
Q: How can I ensure I am properly disclosing how I received my product?
A: According to the FTC, disclosure should always be “clear”, “visible”, and “conspicuous”. So long as you ‘place’ (whether it be in video editing, writing, etc.) your disclosure reasonably to an average person and avoid vague and/or ambiguous language you should have nothing to worry about.
Q: Does receiving a product for free obligate me to provide a positive review?
A: Not at all, we encourage you to be open and honest with your opinion. If you believe anyone or any brand ever is attempting intimidate or otherwise pressure you into providing a non-genuine review for personal gain we ask that you immediately report them to us so that we can take action as we deem necessary. You can email us to report such incidents.
Q: What happens if I don’t disclose how I received a product?
A: Failure to disclose may put you at risk for FTC non-compliance penalties. This is serious business. Additionally, as outlined above, failure to comply with Glamily rules and terms may result in your being banned from all future Glamily community events and even potentially being removed from the Glamily platform.