A legal complaint has been submitted in Switzerland by a consumer organisation which accuses Roger Federer and others of secretly advertising brands on social media.
On Monday the Swiss Foundation for Consumer Protection published a statement criticising a string of celebrities for something they describe as ‘stealth advertising.’ This is when somebody uploads a social media post to promote a brand or product, but doesn’t say that it is an advert. Federer is one of a series of high-profile Swiss celebrities that has been mentioned in the legal document.
“In a video, Roger Federer shows the logo of his clothing supplier, snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov has himself photographed at the entrance to a clothing store, [model/actress/TV host] Michelle Hunziker thanks various shops for their support at a fashion shoot, cyclist Jolanda Neff distributes a contribution from a credit card company and influencer Xenia Tchoumitcheva promotes jewellery. All of these contributions lack any indication that they are advertising,” a statement translated by SWI reads.
The goal of those filing the complaint is to force the Swiss government to tighten up their laws when it comes to online advertising. Something that has been done in other European countries. In Great Britain, the Advertising Standards Agency has published guidelines for social media influencers about how they can stay within the regulation of national law. Under Swiss laws, advertising must be properly labelled, however, it does not specify how.
Responding to the allegations made against Federer, his lawyer has since dismissed the case. In a statement published by newspaper Blick, Federer’s attorney said the world No.3 always uses social media in an ‘authentic and spontaneous’ way.
“At this point we do not express our content regarding the pending proceedings, but we are convinced that the complaints will be rejected. Basically, we want to state that Roger Federer uses his social media accounts authentically and spontaneously to communicate with his fans. He always informs the public transparently about his sponsoring activities.”
The 37-year-old is one of the highest paid athletes in the world. Forbes Magazine lists Federer as the fifth highest paid person in the world of sport this year with earnings of $93.4M, including $86M from endorsements alone. His sponsors includes a 10-year deal with Uniqlo, Credit Suisse, Mercedes-Benz and Rolex.
Federer has made no comment regarding the allegation so far.
