Australian Survivor’s Sophie Cachia breached advertising standards by claiming an Instagram post was “not spon” [sponsored], despite having a paid agreement with the brand she was promoting.
Sophie was paid to share Instagram posts for the phone accessories brand Cygnett, with one post claiming “nobody charges my phone like this cord here”.
“Whenever I lose it, it’s devastating (aka Bobby steals it for his iPad) I will neverrrrrrr go back to any other cord. Not spon, just simply life changing when you need your phone constantly & charged SO fast [sic],” she said.
Since October 2020, content creators are required to tell their followers if they’re being paid or sponsored for a post on social media, which is often done by using the hashtag “#AD” at the end of the caption.
Sophie’s older Cygnett posts were edited on July 8 and now have the hashtag “#Partner”, although it is unclear whether the hashtag was just added.
Since Sophie claimed the post was not sponsored, concerns were raised to the Ad Standards Community Panel that the post wasn’t distinguishable as an advertisement.
According to the Herald Sun, the complaint read: “Sophie is obviously getting paid to be an ongoing ambassador for this product/brand (Cygnett) and should clearly display that it is a paid post.”
Tech Accessories Brand Cygnett Blamed Sophie Cachia For The Advertising Standards Breach
Cygnett said they had an agreement with Sophie for paid brand endorsements but that this particular post was done without their knowledge, which was perhaps what she inaccurately meant by “not spon”.
The post was allegedly uploaded “outside [their] paid agreement” and was “not included in the content calendar” or requested by the brand.
“If an influencer decides to post without permission or knowledge of a brand, why is the brand held responsible?” Cygnett representatives asked.
The Ad Standards Community Panel upheld the complaint on July 8 and found Cygnett in breach of the advertising code of ethics.
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