Also if companies want to give out free samples of anything that isn't formula then presumably they can also do that...it is just the selling, and the stealing of personal data that is the issue...
To a point. They are definitely the key issues.
But I would say, that given the area they work in - primarily healthcare due to presence on the wards - (rather than a more generalised field as Mumsnet) they should adhere to the behaviour you expect from professionals in that field and display the same level of understanding about how important trust is.
We should expect this from anyone who does end up advertising in a similar fashion in other areas of the NHS. There are people such as Margaret McCartney or Ben Goldacre, might suggest we should be going even further, because the whole area is too open to abuse. I think to an extent this is an area of debate that people who really support this campaign will differ on and thats not a bad thing. We need to have this debate as the direction the NHS is headed, means this will become an increasingly important issue.
If I'm honest, I think I would settle for a halfway house, as long as there was some regulation and accountability going on (which definitely isn't the in the framework of the NHS at the moment and you can see this from the fact that my 5 Trusts haven't done a formal review about potential problems). I think thats my goal really; to get a formal review in hospitals and to get them to take these issues a lot more seriously, even if they don't go as far as kicking Bounty out. They need to live up to their legal duties and need to be able to prove, beyond any doubt, that they have put in measure that work to do this.
I'm noting this definition from 'The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008'
?professional diligence? means the standard of special skill and care which a trader may reasonably be expected to exercise towards consumers which is commensurate with either?
(a) honest market practice in the trader?s field of activity, or
(b)the general principle of good faith in the trader?s field of activity;
Which applies to unfair sales practices. Its worth thinking about. If you expect a level of honest from healthcare providers then do you trust that people who advertise in that area to be working in your best interests as a direct result of their association.
So I do feel Bounty, perhaps need to be perhaps more transparent about what they are doing too rather than going out of their way to try and hide it. I would prefer honesty rather than lies about them being an advertiser. Making money from advertising isn't necessarily a bad thing. But where and how you do it, is important, particularly if you are in this area.
Btw, if you want to do your own little experiment about how much Bounty want to hide / downplay their commercial intent, then go on their twitter feed and scroll back.
They had a daily feature which was "Today's #topproduct"
The last time it appeared was 11th June. If the significance of this date escapes you, look at the first post of this thread...
PR at its best/worst.
(And the above is a good example of why we should be teaching media studies without the level of derision its commonly given in education. Stuff like this, is more important than you realise, but thats a whole different debate).