McDonald’s France would have called on young influencers to highlight its products on Youtube, without mentioning the existence of a commercial partnership. The fast food brand is the subject of a complaint for “Deceptive marketing practices” filed by UFC-Que Choisir, announced the consumer association on Wednesday, October 13 in a press release.
In these videos, child influencers, including Neo & Swan – a Youtube channel followed by more than 5.7 million people -, play at recreating a McDonald’s restaurant at home (renamed for the occasion “McSwan’s”), “Provided with impeccable packaging stamped McDo, or unwrap” surprise “packages which they do not lack, between two thanks to their generous benefactor, to detail the toys to find in the Happy Meal … with a reminder of the dates of availability”, relates the association of consumers. The world was also able to observe the absence of a message indicating that the video is a commercial communication.
“However, to conceal the advertising nature of a message, thus letting the community of an influencer believe in disinterested advice, is a deceptive commercial practice punishable”, reminds the association in a press release published on Wednesday.
For McDonald’s, this is a “Abusive complaint, intended for the media, which absolutely does not reflect the nature of (his) practice “, said the group in a reaction sent to Agence France-Presse. The latter said he was considering filing a complaint “For malicious prosecution”.
Children “less armed” in the face of hidden advertising messages
In July, a similar case earned influencer and reality TV star Nabilla Benattia-Vergara a fine of 20,000 euros for promoting stock services on Snapchat without mentioning that she was being paid for it. “Failure to indicate the advertising nature of its publication (by a logo or an oral or written mention, for example) constitutes a deceptive commercial practice against its subscribers, who may mistakenly believe that the promotion of the influencer is the result of a selfless positive personal experience ”, had then underlined the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) in its press release.
And to add:
“The publications of influencers on social networks are (…) likely to have a significant impact on the economic behavior of those who follow them and therefore should not mislead consumers. “
For the UFC-What to choose, “The perfidy of such a lack of transparency increases if the target community is made up of children, less armed than adults in the face of hidden advertising messages”.
Last April, McDonald’s had already assured the association “Never enter into any partnership with minors aged 17 or under, or [avec] parents exclusively highlighting their children on their channel ”. The group says they also have “Repeatedly offered exchanges to answer all questions from the consumers’ association”, without success.