Big brands risk credibility crisis as more ad campaigns find way onto Asian sites that deal in pirated movies and music
Major Asian advertising networks are continuing to place ads on rogue sites despite rash of negative publicity
The advertising campaigns of big brands are appearing on Asian websites that provide pirated movies and music, putting companies’ reputations at risk and exposing them to online criminal networks, according to a recent study.
Experts lay the blame on the complex, automated online advertising networks that efficiently package and distribute such campaigns but give advertisers little to no control over which websites they land on.
A study by Paul Watters, a professor of information technology at Massey University in New Zealand, found that certain networks place mainstream ads on Asia’s top piracy sites, which also run marketing campaigns for pornography, malware and illegal gambling.
“I am shocked sometimes by what I observe online,” Watters said.
His research covered 9,000 webpages of 90 known piracy sites from nine Asian markets including Hong Kong. The study showed more than 1,600 ads from legitimate businesses were placed on those sites.
A campaign by US food company Quaker Oats, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, was found to have been placed on a Chinese website providing free movies and shows to download, while advertising from luxury fashion house Saint Laurent Paris was on a site for pirated movies.