France Vichy Cosmetics: Blog Or Not To Blog?

France Vichy cosmetics: blog or not to blog?

The main characteristic of blogs is transparency, so the behavior of Vichy’s France could appear as disgraceful. After a deep analysis of the facts, it seems that the “creative” use of the blog done by Vichy’s France (better: by Euro RSCG 4D on behalf of Vichy’s France), cannot be appreciated if it is not considered as part and parcel of the global marketing program (which united the blog with advertising) for the launch of Peel Microabrasion.

Blogs’ reliability is function of the reliability of the content posted in the blog itself. There is not an hierarchical external control on the trustworthiness of the content of blogs and so blog’s reliability is devolved upon the administrator (owner) of the blog itself and upon the other bloggers.

Can be argued that Journal de ma peau has certainly lowered the trust of the people of the blogosphere in Vichy’s blogs, and so in the future Vichy could face problem (at least in France) in using blog formats in a traditional way (for promoting new products, for marketing research, for dialoging with customers).

Rather than consider the flog built up for the promotion of Vichy’s product as an incorrect use of the blog tool, it is necessary to take note that internet is no (more) a pure and pristine world in which humans beings can develop their personality without incurring in the pitfalls of the real world. Internet is just an extension of the old real world, with all its defects: i.e. people that with “the intention to boost its revenues” do not hesitate to violate rules, although not written.

So, translating on internet the same behavior of the real world I will not suggest Dolphin to apologize, but simply to add a disclaimer (typed with a very little character) in the blog, saying:

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