The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) have released a Statement of Best Practices that encourages all marketers to take affirmative steps to address the serious problems of online piracy and counterfeiting. It was released today at a meeting of the International Anti-Counterfeiting Conference in Washington, DC.
The Statement specifically advises marketers to include language in their media placement contracts and insertion orders to prevent ads from appearing on ‘rogue sites’ dedicated to infringement of intellectual property rights of others. In addition to the ANA and 4A’s, the Statement is supported by a key industry partner, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).
Bob Liodice, ANA’s president and CEO, stated: “Marketers must have confidence that their ads are not unintentionally providing financial support or otherwise legitimizing ‘rogue’ Internet websites whose primary purpose is to steal the intellectual property of America’s innovators and creators.” Liodice noted that “ads for iconic and trusted brands can lend inadvertent legitimacy to the illicit business models and can mislead consumers into believing that these ‘rogue’ websites are offering authentic products and complying with the law.”
Addressing online piracy and counterfeiting has been a strong priority for both the White House Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) and the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus. They have urged ANA, the 4A’s, IAB and other industry groups to play an active role in this fight. The Best Practices Statement supports this critical need by encouraging all marketers to take affirmative steps to avoid placement of their ads on ‘rogue’ websites.
“The deceptive practices of these ‘rogue’ websites are unfair both to consumers and the companies that invest vast resources to establish brand integrity,” said 4A’s president-CEO Nancy Hill. “Combating online piracy and counterfeiting is a key priority for the entire business community and we look forward to continuing to work with the White House, Congress and all of our industry partners on this important issue.”
Randall Rothenberg, IAB president and CEO, stated: “Protecting the availability of quality, original content is vital to the health of the Internet. IAB remains committed to combating online piracy and through our Quality Assurance Guidelines program we will continue to develop a more secure digital supply chain. We appreciate the initiative by ANA and the 4A’s and look forward to working with our marketer and agency partners to find effective business solutions that can choke off revenue from these criminals.”
Liodice concluded: “We strongly urge all marketers to discuss this matter with their ad agencies and media buyers to stress your company’s commitment to combating online piracy and counterfeiting. The entire Internet ecosystem must come together to address this problem.”
FireAid Concert Features Major Music Stars, Shares Stories Of Loss To Raise Money For L.A. Wildfire Relief
Pop stars, first responders, rock stars and those who've lost everything in the devastating LA-area wildfires came together for FireAid, a massive benefit concert Thursday that combined spectacular performances with moving storytelling from survivors and reminders of the destruction.
In a night full of surprises, a reunion of Nirvana — fronted by St. Vincent, Kim Gordon and Joan Jett in the place of the late Kurt Cobain — tops the list. They launched into "Breed," "School" and "Territorial Pissings" respectively, inspired and unexpected choices.
Drummer Dave Grohl's daughter, Violet, then emerged on stage for "All Apologies."
Closer Lady Gaga, after powering through the Oscar-award winning "Shallow" and "Always Remember Us This Way" from "A Star Is Born," played a new song on the piano. "It's just for tonight, it's just for you," she said of the song she wrote with fiancé businessman Michael Polansky. "Time is a healer."
"All I need is time," she sang in the folk-y pop chorus. "To heal my broken wings and then I'll soar."
Green Day kicked off the massive show by launching into "Last Night on Earth" at the Kia Forum and were soon joined by Billie Eilish for the first surprise of the night. The lyrics are surprisingly astute: "If I lose everything in the fire / I'm sending all my love to you."
After their set, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong hugged actor Billy Crystal, who was there to welcome to the crowd at the Kia Forum.
"Our goal is simple tonight, to spend more money than the Dodgers spent on free agents," he joked. He told the audience U2 offered the first big donation of the night: $1 million dollars.
Crystal said he was wearing the clothes he had on when he evacuated. He lost his home in... Read More