Many of the countries leading brands are placing their advertising messages on the more than 150,000 pirate entertainment sites that distribute content without any compensation going to creators according to the
USC Annenberg Ad Transparency Report. Without the advertising revenue most of these sites would cease to operate.
Included among the companies that are keeping these sites in business are:
Adobe, ADT Security, Alaska Air, Amazon, American Express, AT&T, Audi, BMW, Boston Market, Boy Scouts, British Airways, Century 21, Charter, Citibank, Cox Communications, Crate & Barrel, DirectTV, Dish Network, ebay, Electronic Arts, Emirates Airline, Ferguson Showrooms, Ford Motor Company, GoPro, Google Chrome, Hertz, HP, Hilton Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, Hyundai, Jet Blue, Kayak, Kohler, LegalZoom, LG Electronics, Macy’s, Marvel Avengers Alliance, Mazda, MiniCooper, Musicians Friend, My M&M’s, Nationwide Insurance, Neiman Marcus, Netflix, Nissan USA, Priceline, Princess Cruises, Register.com, Rejuvenation Inc., Sheraton Hotels, Skype, Sprint, State Farm Insurance, Sweetwater Sound, Target, TuneCore, United Airlines, Urban Outfitters, Virgin Atlantic, Visa, VW, W Hotels, Weight Watchers, Wendy’s, Westin, Williams Sonoma, Yahoo
The Copyright Alliance has prepared a letter that will be sent to the CEO’s of brands that appear on multiple occasions on infringing sites. The letter asks them to pledge to keep their ads off of illegal sites and advises them of the damage their advertising spend is doing to the creative community, and by extension many of their customers.
The Copyright Alliance is asking everyone in the creative community to add their names to the
letter that will be sent to these CEO’s.
It is important to note that the above list of companies is not comprehensive and that ads of many other brands appear on pirate sites. One of the goals of the Copyright Alliance is to make all advertisers aware of the damage their advertising may be doing to future creativity.
The letter to CEOs and marketing directors follows:
An Open Letter to the CEOs of Brands Advertising on Infringing Sites:
We, the undersigned, are just a few of the millions of artists and creators living, working, and creating across the United States. It has come to our attention that your companies are advertising on websites that illegally host or distribute creative content. We want to make you aware of the harm your companies do to independent artists and small businesses when you advertise on these sites.
Advertising on these sites encourages others to exploit our work for economic gain without a return to us. It deprives us of the opportunity to build communities with fans when they visit illegal sites to obtain our work, rather than our sites. It also gives consumers a false sense of security by lending an air of legitimacy to these sites. And, it rewards activities that are illegal.
Advertising on these sites also damages your own brands by association.
We understand that it can be difficult to know where your companies’ ads might end up because of the complexity of online advertising. However, difficult does not mean impossible. It appears that
other companies make ad buys in ways that don’t result in their brands being tarnished and our work being exploited.
We ask you to encourage your companies to do the same.
You are in the best position to employ high-quality control standards and to demand the same from the ad networks you use. We encourage your companies to uphold high ethical standards for advertising placement, just as you do in other areas of business.
Please ask your online advertising purchasers to adopt practices like those detailed in the Statement of Best Practices to Address Online Piracy and Counterfeiting, released last year by the Association of National Advertisers, the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s), and the Interactive Advertising Bureau. The practices outlined
here, if adopted by major companies like yours, would go a long way towards ensuring a free and fair online marketplace for artists and creators to thrive. A report
released by the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Innovation Lab on February 14, 2013, under the direction of Jonathan Taplin, has identified the top ten Ad Networks placing ads on infringing sites. And, according to research and documentation by artists working in tandem with this
project, your companies have been identified as brands that repeatedly advertise on infringing websites.
Now that this issue has been brought to your attention, we hope that you will take affirmative steps to address this problem.
We ask you to start by signing the following
pledge here, which is also written below:
"I support the rights of artists, creators and innovators to be compensated for the fruits of their labor. I run my business ethically, and value my brand. I pledge not to advertise on sites which illegally exploit the work of creators without their permission."
Sincerely,