Complaint
A viewer complained about a report on the roll-out by Starbucks in Italy of their new Oleato drink (coffee to which olive oil has been added), which he said amounted to 鈥渂latant promotion鈥.聽 The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the 大象传媒鈥檚 Editorial Guidelines on independence from external interests, and particularly their provisions on undue prominence for commercial products.
Outcome
The Guidelines recognise that, in order to reflect the real world, it is necessary to allow references to commercial products, organisations and services on occasion (which is particularly pertinent in the case of business reports such as this one).聽 However, they also call for care to avoid giving products a degree of prominence which could lead to an impression of endorsement or promotion.聽 In order to achieve this, they say references to trade names and brands must be clearly editorially justified and not lingering or repetitious.聽 In the ECU鈥檚 judgement, the frequent appearances on screen of the Starbucks鈥 name and logo were beyond what was editorially justifiable in the context and, in combination with commentary from the reporter which tended to cast the product in a favourable light, went too far towards creating the impression of endorsement or promotion the Guidelines caution against.
Upheld
Further action
The finding was reported to the management of 大象传媒 News and discussed with the programme-makers concerned.