＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
1. What is the problem with “stealth marketing”?
(1) Recent examples of stealth marketing
Recently, the comedy duo “Miki” (older brother Kosei, 33, younger brother Asei, 31), who are affiliated with Yoshimoto Kogyo, tweeted with hashtags such as “#KyotoCityEncouragementTeam” and “#KyotoInternationalFilmFestival” without clearly stating that it was advertising (PR), which caused a problem as it could be considered “stealth marketing.” “Stealth marketing” is an abbreviation of “stealth marketing,” which means “advertising disguised as word of mouth.”
The story of this “advertising” goes like this: Yoshimoto Kogyo received a request from the city of Kyoto, and “Miki” accepted the advertising job (to tweet promotional material about Kyoto), tweeted four times, and received 2 million yen.
(2) What is stealth marketing?
Stealth marketing is “advertising that is hidden from consumers.” It is also known as “staged advertising” or “fake advertising.”
In the first place, if it is “advertising,” there is no problem if Kimura Takuya, who probably drives a luxury car, advertises a mass-market car like the Corolla. There is no problem if Kitagawa Keiko, who probably uses famous foreign cosmetics, advertises Kose cosmetics. However, consumers may get the impression that it is fake…
However, if you conceal the fact that you are “paid to advertise” and write an article on your blog as if you are a genuine user or drink of the product, or recommend the product, this becomes “stealth marketing.”
(3) Types of stealth marketing
There are two types of stealth marketing: impersonation and profit-making.
Impersonation is when a company pretends to be a regular consumer and writes reviews and ratings. This type includes not only positive reviews, but also negative reviews of rival companies, pretending to be a user.
A famous past incident was the “Tabelog Incident” in 2012, in which a company impersonated a user and posted favorable comments about a specific restaurant.
The “profit-providing” type is one in which a reward is paid to celebrities and other people with social influence (influencers) to promote the product.
A famous past case was the “Penny Auction Fraud Case” in 2012. This case was discovered due to the crackdown on “Penny Auction Fraud.” The arrested company was running a penny auction site, and several celebrities were paid to post false information on their blogs about “winning and purchasing high-priced items at bargain prices.”
The celebrities who engaged in stealth marketing were ultimately not held criminally responsible for fraud or violations of the minor offenses law.
(4) Problems with stealth marketing
① It deceives consumers
It gives consumers a false impression and prevents them from making the right decisions.
② It reduces credibility of the entire industry
It creates distrust in the same or similar industry as a whole.
③ There is a risk of it becoming a “flame war”
It can be heavily criticized by netizens and ordinary consumers, and can become a “flame war” online.
(5) Legal restrictions against stealth marketing
The Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations sets out rules for companies when promoting and advertising their products and services, and prohibits “unfair representations.” “Unfair representations” are misleading representations of superiority and misleading representations of advantage.
2. A commercial star of a company that sold a product that caused health problems
A certain actress advertised a soap made from tea called “Cha no Shizuku” with the catchphrase “Don’t give up,” which caused health problems. The product was made by a cosmetics and quasi-drug manufacturer and had won the “Monde Selection Gold Award,” but it caused health problems such as eczema, rashes, and allergic reactions.
There have been numerous lawsuits against the manufacturers seeking damages and they are still ongoing, but no liability has been pursued against the actress.
3. A commercial star of a fraudulent business
(1) A commercial star of a company that engaged in fraudulent business practices for financial products (multiple sales of mortgage securities)
A former ozeki appeared in newspaper inserts and TV commercials. The victims pursued liability for damages based on tort, claiming that “the advertisements in which the former ozeki appeared gave viewers a sense of familiarity and trust, weakening their psychological resistance to purchasing, and the former ozeki intentionally or negligently assisted the mortgage securities sales company in committing fraud,” but the court denied the former ozeki’s liability.
(2) A performer in a commercial for the pseudo-currency “Yen-ten” (L&G)
An enka singer who appeared in an advertisement for “Yen-ten” (L&G) was also held liable for damages based on tort by the plaintiff, who invested in L&G, claiming that “L&G committed organized fraud and tort, yet the enka singer gave a concert at L&G’s national convention and appeared in a DVD,” but the court denied the enka singer’s liability.
(3) An actor who posted a “testimonial” in a fraudulent business advertisement
Unlike the two cases above, there is a case in which an actor who posted a “testimonial” in a pamphlet for a so-called “wilderness business” was found liable for aiding and abetting an illegal act.
In this case, the actor clearly stated that he had a “personal connection with the defendant company’s executives” and was found liable for aiding and abetting an illegal act because he was “recommending the defendant company in his personal capacity.”
4. Celebrities who spoke honestly about the products of the companies they appeared in (an unnecessary remark)
This is a story about the late Nakamura Kanzaburo (1955-2012) when he was a child and called himself Nakamura Kankuro.
As a Suntory CM talent, he was in charge of commercials for the concentrated juice “Toris Concentrate Juice” under the name “Toris Boy”, but this happened when his contract expired and it was his last appearance.
The female host said to him, “Today will be your last time as Toris Boy. You can talk about anything you like today,” to which he replied, “Can I talk about anything?” and then said, “The truth is, this juice isn’t very tasty.” At the time, it was a live broadcast, so there was no way to re-shoot it. The turmoil within Suntory that followed must have been huge.
Yoko Asaji was famous for appearing in the “Ebara Yakiniku Sauce” commercial for many years, but one day she publicly stated that she “doesn’t use Ebara Yakiniku Sauce.” In fact, she was a “vegetarian” and declared that she does not eat meat.
As a result, she was forced to leave the commercial.
I once heard that in the 1970s, a famous actress became the poster girl for a certain bank, and even after appearing in the commercial, she never made a deposit with that bank.
From now on, when watching commercials, it would be wise to take them with a grain of salt, keeping in mind that they contain a lot of lies.