When user generated content goes bad
January 30, 2008 – 3:05 pmYes, UGC, or user generated content, can come back to bite you in the butt. Subway is currently suing Quiznos for some user submitted videos. To quote the NY Times article,
Subway promptly sued Quiznos and iFilm, the Web site owned by Viacom that ran the contest, saying that many of the homemade videos made false claims and depicted its brand in a derogatory way. Subway is also objecting to ads that Quiznos itself created, showing people on the street choosing Quiznos over Subway.
Depending on the way this goes, it could spell bad things for companies using campaigns like this or campaigns that seem a little similar to those launched by others, like Larissa’s credit union video or BankerSpank.
4 Responses to “When user generated content goes bad”
My favorite part of the NYT article:
“One of the videos showed a Subway sandwich running to a Quiznos store to find more meat. Another showed two submarines fashioned as sandwiches, with the one representing Subway being obliterated because it did not have enough meat, according to the suit.”
Ummm. Technically that’s a false claim, I guess.
Lighten up, Subway.
By Trey Reeme on Jan 30, 2008
Robbie, this article does indeed raise some very interesting legal questions about who is responsible for UGC. However, I don’t think this particular lawsuit is going to go very far since I think it’s simply factual that Quizno’s subs have more meat than Subway. Don’t you think? I just love the hilarious and creative ways that their fans came up with to get the point across. It’s only libel if it’s not true.
By Morriss Partee on Jan 30, 2008
Ron Shevlin pointed me to this article. Very interesting indeed. Technically speaking, Larissa is a paid employee of Common Wealth Credit Union. So, if she does something offside that causes a lawsuit, Common Wealth is even more connected than a renegade third party. I think this works in Common Wealth’s favour though, in that she is less likely to do something that would jeopardize her employer.
It takes a brave organization to embrace this stuff. You really have to weigh each piece of content and be prepared to pull it if it gives you that bad feeling in your gut. Luckily, there has not been anything like that yet!
By Tim McAlpine on Jan 30, 2008
Lawyers.
They ruin everything. I’m so sick of this politically correct world we live in. It’s a sandwich for god’s sake. I love Quizno’s not only for their spunk (remember those little blobby urchins they used to use?) but for their meat.
I hope this does NOT chase credit union marketers back into the cold-dark-shiny-happy-people-pun-marketing-safe corner we’ve been for years. Larissa!!! Help!!!! Make another video!!!!
By Denise Wymore on Jan 31, 2008