McDonald's has been slammed by ACMA for breaching the Spam Act with its 'send to friends' Happy Meal campaign.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has issued a formal warning to McDonald's for its Happy Meal campaign. In this campaign, McDonald's encouraged its customers to send their friends a link on its Happy Meal website, which included promotional games.
ACMA found McDonald's breached the Spam Act because:
- McDonald's caused commercial electronic messages to be sent without the express consent of the recipient; and
- the messages did not include an unsubscribe facility.
This is the first time ACMA has taken action against a large company for a 'send to friends' viral marketing activation, and it comes as a timely reminder to e-marketers of the 3 basic principles of sending commercial electronic messages (including emails, SMS and MMS sent for a promotional purpose) under the Spam Act:
- Consent: Don't trust your friends. Commercial electronic messages may only be sent if express consent is given by the recipient. Relying on the personal relationship of a 'friend' is not sufficient – in the case of McDonald's, it had to prove that it received the express consent from the recipient – which of course it didn't.
- Identify: Who is your friend? Commercial electronic messages must accurately identify the original sender of the promotional message and include enough information for the recipient to contact the sender.
- Unsubscribe: Your friends may not like Happy Meals. So commercial electronic messages must contain an unsubscribe facility, enabling the recipient to 'opt-out' from receiving future marketing material. Remember, any 'opt-outs' received by the sender must be honoured within 5 business days.
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