Disclosure Best Practices Checklist 6: Creative Flexibility

Focus: Best practices for artistic/entertainment situations where temporarily obscuring the sponsor of a site is necessary and appropriate.

Disclosure may be delayed temporarily to allow for creative freedom if it meets all of the following criteria:

1. The blog is clearly part of a game, mystery, or other project that is intended for entertainment purposes, not to enable corporate representatives to pose as consumers. It must be apparent to the average reader that there is a business/marketing purpose to the project.
2. The sponsor will be eventually revealed within a reasonable period of time.

Example: Creating blogs to promote a movie.

• CORRECT: A pretend blog where someone writes that they may have discovered aliens in their house to promote a science fiction movie.
• CORRECT: A blog is “written” by a character if it’s apparent the character is fictional.
• CORRECT: Clues in a mystery or alternate-reality game.
• INCORRECT: A fake consumer blog where the “author” writes: “I’d love to go see this movie.”