Skip to content
PromoVeritas
PromoVeritas
Contact Us
PromoVeritas
  • Home
  • About Us
  • What We Do and Why
  • Our Work
  • News
  • Join the Team
  • Contact

That red swimsuit promotion that everyone is talking about

PromoVeritas May 9, 2017

Last week Instagram and Twitter were in a frenzy, and all because of a simple swimsuit promotion run by US based Sunny Co Clothing. To win a free $64 swimsuit entrants simply had to repost the now infamous image and tag Sunny Co. within 24 hours.

But was the promotion really a success? Instagram users were soon complaining that their feeds were clogged up by the photo whilst Twitter was alight with criticism and ridicule of it.  Meanwhile Sunny Co. had their Instagram account shut down and have been forced to tweet a grovelling apology promising to honour the first 50,000 orders!

So where did Sunny Co. Clothing go wrong? Here’s a few things we noticed:

  • No Terms & Conditions – the whole disaster would have been avoided if simple terms had made the dates and any exclusions clear
  • Requesting a repost and tag – this encourages the kind of spamming which causes Instagram to shut down accounts
  • Unclear closing date – the date was incorrect and stated a 2-day period
  • No disclaimer – promoters must state that the promotion is not endorsed by Instagram

In their own words, Instagram is all about allowing “…you to experience moments in your friends’ lives through pictures as they happen.” Seeing endless pictures of the same red swimsuit does not fulfil this and is viewed as spamming by Instagram which is probably why they closed down Sunny Co.’s account.

Running promotions on social media platforms such as Instagram does make sense for brands as they are quick and inexpensive to organise and can encourage huge engagement within minutes. But as we can see here, that engagement may not always be good and can result in disaster.

So how would PromoVeritas have run this promotion differently?

  1. The mechanic – we always encourage more creative use of Instagram such as photo competitions to make it more compelling
  2. Summary terms and a link to full terms – this is best practice and a requirement of the CAP Code
  3. A full set of Terms and Conditions – at the very least these would need to include key information such as closing dates, the number of prizes available, any entry restrictions such as age – to protect both promoter and the consumer from abuse. The terms must also include the disclaimer that Instagram require of all promotions on Instagram.
  4. Guarantee your prize – make sure you have enough prizes to supply demand
  5. Announce the winners – this is another requirement of the CAP Code but also shows that your promotion is valid and being run fairly

PromoVeritas have run thousands of social media promotions and are one step ahead when it comes to new rules and new platforms. Contact us to discover more about our expertise and how we can help you plan a successful promotion on info@promoveritas.com or call 020 3325 6000.

« Celebrities warned again over #ad posts When promotions don’t pay »

Call us on 0203 325 6000 to find out how we can help your promotion

+44 (0)203 325 6000
info@promoveritas.com
  • Home
  • About Us
  • What We Do and Why
  • Our Work
  • News
  • Join the Team
  • Contact
Proud members of ISO-27001 Accredited Proud members of
Run it Right.
© 2023 PromoVeritas
Privacy Policy Terms of Service Website Terms & Conditions Cookies Policy
We use cookies on our website. All the cookies we use can be viewed using the Cookie Settings button. By clicking “ACCEPT” you consent to the use of all cookies. You cannot disable our essential cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Read More
ACCEPTCookie settings
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Essential
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

CookieTypeDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary011 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-non-necessary011 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Non Necessary".
viewed_cookie_policy011 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Non Essential

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

CookieTypeDurationDescription
_ga01 yearThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, camapign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assigns a randoly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_UA-15728851-301 minuteThis is a pattern type cookie set by Google Analytics, where the pattern element on the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to. It appears to be a variation of the _gat cookie which is used to limit the amount of data recorded by Google on high traffic volume websites.
_gid01 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
bcookie01 yearThis cookie is set by linkedIn. The purpose of the cookie is to enable LinkedIn functionalities on the page.
bscookie11 year
csrftoken011 monthsThis cookie is associated with Django web development platform for python. Used to help protect the website against Cross-Site Request Forgery attacks
GPS030 minutesThis cookie is set by Youtube and registers a unique ID for tracking users based on their geographical location
IDE11 yearUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
ig_did11 year
ig_nrcb01 year
lang0This cookie is used to store the language preferences of a user to serve up content in that stored language the next time user visit the website.
li_sugr02 months
lidc01 dayThis cookie is set by LinkedIn and used for routing.
lissc01 year
mid01 yearThe cookie is set by Instagram. The cookie is used to distinguish users and to show relevant content, for better user experience and security.
test_cookie011 months
u02 months
UserMatchHistory01 month
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE15 monthsThis cookie is set by Youtube. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website.
YSC1This cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos.
Save & Accept