As a PR professional, the job is to make a person, place or thing relatable, make it look good and get the word out about that particular client. Living in the real world, we can't always expect honesty and truthfulness to play an integral role in public relations, but one would expect the individual PR agents to have some sense of morality and ethical conviction.
In some cases, the PR professionals were actually aware of the misleading nature of the videos and their potential to be abused and still issued them based on an agreement made between either the reporter, news station or the network.
1. Sandwich Spin, Served up Fresh
Jared Fogle, the infamous face of Subway, lost 245 pounds by allegedly eating only Subway meals and getting adequate exercise. Fleischman Hillard PR firm was hired by Subway to create the campaign "Fresh Revolution"- with that came the expected video news releases scheduled to be sent out to news stations. In January 2006, several news stations were hired by Subway to use the original VNR and edit as they wish to paint the company in the light of inevitable health and weight loss. Upon closer inspection, you can tell the video edits and cuts as well as audio edits from one fake story to the next. One station even went so far as to create a fake interview with Jared Fogle himself.
2. Safety Information, Sold Separately
Released in December 2005, Steifel Laboratories hired several news stations to run stories about a new topical eczema treatment called Mimyx. The drug (and lab) claimed that the product reduced size and symptoms of problem areas and could be used on any age. This was not the case. As many viewers found out, the ointment was not appropriate for every age and that the news stations had intentionally left out the 30 seconds of safety information found in the original VNR. As best that Farsetta and Price would find, no action was ever taken against the news stations as there had been a mutual 'advertisement' agreement between the stations and lab.
3. "Accidental Housewife" Intentionally Hides Her Sponsor Ties
Julie Eldman, the "Accidental Housewife" of a Charlotte news station, failed to mention in a Holiday gift giving special her 'special' ties to the companies she was featuring. According to research, she was given all of the products plus payment by the companies if she featured their products and services in her news clip. Essentially they 'bought' their way into her story while she featured them as 'the best products on the market.' The clients that Eldman worked with included Build-a-Bear Workshop, Tide-To-Go, Drugstore.com and Knowledge Adventure.
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