So: Pepsi was running a really obnoxious "sponsored v-gift" campaign on Livejournal. The ads were shown to paid users - something which Livejournal promised they would never permit, when they started permitting ads in the first place. Now someone on Insanejournal, apparently a Livejournal expatriate, wrote a shit-disturbing letter to Pepsi telling them that their ad was running on a site that "allows the hosting of graphic violent material, linked to the inciting [sic] of racial hatred[.]" And Pepsi has pulled the campaign. (Note: I am not taking a position on whether this is cause and effect; the user seems to be claiming credit for the kill, but of course one can think of lots of other possible explanations.) On the one hand, I hated the Pepsi ads too, and I'm not sorry to see them go. But substitute accusations of "child pornography" for the accusations of "racial hatred," and you've got exactly the pressure campaign that Warriors For Innocence is trying to run. I don't think WFI's tactics are acceptable. I don't see JackAndAHat's tactics as being meaningfully different. Lowering oneself to WFI's level is not a clever idea.
Comments
owen from 74.119.251.106 at Thu, 30 Aug 2007 01:59:29 +0000:
For a guy who doesn't use LJ anymore, you sure spend a lot of time writing about it. They should be mailing you cheques.
Matt from 67.158.76.33 at Thu, 30 Aug 2007 02:21:20 +0000:
There's a reason:
http://www.projectwonderful.com/img/generated/charts/1108-display.png
owen from 74.119.251.106 at Thu, 30 Aug 2007 05:08:51 +0000:
so, you write about LJ in the hope that slashdot will pick up the story and drive viewers to your web comic. Dude, you are such a g33k.
Matt from 129.97.79.144 at Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:20:23 +0000:
Slashdot isn't cool anymore, but I'm interested, more directly, in writing things that lots of people will want to read.
culturedgoat from 125.103.230.26 at Sat, 01 Sep 2007 01:31:40 +0000:
Is it certain that Pepsi pulled the ads in a direct response to the complaints? That email seemed kind of vague, and form-letter-y. Also it was sent a few days after the Pepsi sponsored stuff disappeared from the site, so if they'd taken specific action, wouldn't they have mentioned it in their reply?
Anyway, the Pepsi v-gifts have definitely been pulled, although the ones that were already sent remain on users' pages. I thought it was more likely that the widespread abuse of the promotion (disgruntled users sending 10 squillion Pepsi v-gifts to all the news and announcements communities, as well as all the users they didn't like) that could have been a reason.
But at the end of the day, whether the complainers were responsible for the pulling of the campaign or not, I really find their actions disgusting. How do they not realise that they are really hurting the service - and similar services - by using cheap "advertiser-scare" tactics like this. It's hard enough getting decent noteworthy corporate sponsorship into community websites as it is, even without some stupid fanboi crying "NOES, THERE ARE NAZIS ON THERE!". It sets a very very dangerous precedent.
Matt from 67.158.76.33 at Sat, 01 Sep 2007 02:50:26 +0000:
Not certain. As I said, I'm not taking a position on cause and effect. It's entirely possible that Pepsi pulled the ads for unknowable reasons of their own, not because of this complaint in particular or maybe not even because of complaints at all, and deliberately wrote a vague letter. Even if they did pull the ads directly because of this particular complaint, it's unlikely they'd actually say so, because that could open them up to liability of some sort. Smart corporations play this kind of thing close to the chest.
It's also been pointed out that JackAndAHat communicated with a British Pepsi distributor (not even Pepsi itself, really), and that's not the company with the most direct connection to the Livejournal Pepsi ad campaign.
But as you say, at the end of the day these actions are damaging whether they cause the ads to be pulled or not.
stodgiest from 206.248.139.25 at Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:37:21 +0000:
I would hate to administer live journal. It is such a poisonous community, the fact that huge elements of its popularity have to do with the civilly-criminal nature of many of its participants is unsavory. Combine this with the communities juggernaut-style whining and you have a recipe for a bad investment.
Add Comment
Do not enter a fake email address. If you don't want to provide one, just leave it blank. Comments with fake email addresses will be deleted.
This form is for posting public comments to be read by other people who visit this Web site. If you have a software support question, or other material directed to the page author instead of to the general public, please send email instead.
All the data you enter, and your IP address, will be saved and displayed. Don't enter secret information. HTML is not accepted; it will be displayed as plain text. Your comment will only be added if you enter valid data in all required fields; if it isn't, use the back button and try again.
I, and I alone, reserve the right to remove postings for any reason.
![[RSS syndication file]](/i/rss.png){kind=small}
rone from 216.101.146.221 at Wed, 29 Aug 2007 05:44:32 +0000:
I agree. And yet i can't help but feel slightly tickled that Six Apart reaped what it sowed. Their behavior in dealing with WFI's nonsense has left them vulnerable to this sort of attack; if they'd been more interested in protecting their userbase, rather than their asses, this probably wouldn't've happened.