Discussion 3 Sony Ericsson Mobile

During the first week of the discussion, students are to upload an initial post in response to the discussion question. The initial post should be a minimum of 300 words and is due on Sunday at 11:59 pm EST. Please be sure to utilize the reading materials (and any outside sources) to support your position(s) and include proper APA citation (in-text and reference list) in your post.

During the second week of the discussion, students are to upload two reply posts in response to their classmates’ initial posts. Each reply post should respectfully agree or disagree with the position(s) taken by your classmate and state the reasons for your position. Each reply should encourage further discussion from the author of the initial post and be a minimum of 100 words. The two reply posts are due on Sunday at 11:59 pm EST. Please be sure to utilize the reading materials (and any outside sources) to support your position(s) and include proper APA citation (in-text and reference list) in your post.

See the discussion rubric in the Important Documents Folder for more details on grading.

ASSIGNED READING:

Please read Chapter 8 of MCADAMS (2012). LAW, BUSINESS AND SOCIETY (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill Publishing.

Initial Discussion Post (Minimum 300 words):

Due Week 1: Sunday @ 11:59 pm EST

Sony Ericsson Mobile used actors to pose as tourists to demonstrate its camera phone at attractions in New York City and Seattle. The actors asked passersby to take their photo, thus demonstrating the camera’s capabilities, but the actors did not identify themselves as actors representing Sony Ericsson. Advocacy groups have complained to the Federal Trade Commission about this word-of-mouth marketing campaign.

What objections might the advocacy groups have to the Sony Ericsson approach? Should the FTC intervene in some fashion? Explain.

The initial post should be a minimum of 300 words and is due on Sunday at 11:59 pm EST. Please be sure to utilize the reading materials (and any outside sources) to support your position(s) and include proper APA citation (in-text and reference list) in your post.

Each reply post should respectfully agree or disagree with the position(s) taken by your classmate and state the reasons for your position. The reply should encourage further discussion from the author of the initial post. It should be a minimum of 100 words. The two reply posts are due on Sunday of the second week at 11:59 pm EST. Please be sure to utilize the reading materials (and any outside sources) to support your position(s) and include proper APA citation (in-text and reference list) in your post.

SAMPLE SOLUTION

Material Connections Disclosure in Advertising

According to the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (ECFR) (2021), the Free Trade Commission (FTC) provides guidelines for the utilization of testimonials and endorsements in advertising (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 2021). According to the FTC guidelines, when a material connection exists between the marketer and endorser of a product that might affect the credibility or weight that customers give the endorsement, the marketer should disclose this connection conspicuously unless the relationship is already clear from the endorsement’s communication (Martin & Sarkar, 2017). This material link could include monetary compensation, free product provision to the endorser, or family relationship. Moreover, the connection must align with the platform and context in which the advertisement appears (Mudge & Renick, 2020). In this case, Sony Ericsson used actors as endorsers for their camera phone to demonstrate the phone’s camera capabilities and the actors did not identify themselves as endorsers for the company. One of the objections that the advocacy groups might have is the non-disclosure of the company’s connection with the advertising…