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Taryn Brumfitt may have inadvertently come to the attention of the ACCC after appearing to endorse a number of products on Instagram without a disclaimer that she was paid to do so.
The newly crowned Aussie of the Year has made several posts in recent years about food, fashion and cars on her ‘bodyimagemovement’ Instagram page.
San Remo Pasta, Modibodi underwear and a Mazda dealership are among the companies and products sold on her social media account.
Some posts include disclaimers of a paid partnership with the companies, while others seem to lack them.
Influencers are required to, at a minimum, end posts with #ad or #sponsored or add a kicker at the top explaining that it is a paid partnership.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced in January that it would crack down on any influencers without including clear disclaimers that they were paid to promote products.
Taryn Brumfitt has made a number of social media posts endorsing products that raise questions about whether they included proper advertising disclaimers (pictured, Ms. Brumfitt displays a pair of Modibodi underwear in a post containing a disclaimer of paid association)
In a post made on September 6, Ms. Brumfitt posted a photo of a bowl of Sam Remo pasta and a spaghetti recipe without a paid association disclaimer.
“You may not know this but @sanremopasta was one of the first brands to jump at the opportunity to support the Embrace Kids movie,” he wrote.
“It was right at the beginning when I was talking about the vision for the film, but I didn’t have anything tangible to show.
In another post on June 23, Ms. Brumfitt included a disclaimer with a photo showing her dressed in a sweater and holding a plate of pasta.
‘Last week I was talking to the team at @sanremopasta about how sick I’ve been (thanks to Covid and co) and was telling them about how I’ve been crushing raw turmeric and ginger (fyi tastes yucky raw!) in an attempt at Get Well Faster! she wrote.
‘I was suggested to try a healthy San Remo soup recipe with those ingredients in abundance, I did and it’s a winner! Swipe right for the recipe!’
Ms Brumfitt made posts endorsing various cars at Edwardstown Mazda in Adelaide, South Australia.
In a post made on August 29, Ms Brumfitt bragged about Modibodi underwear in a video without including an advertising disclaimer.
‘I have been a customer of @modibodi since they opened their doors many years ago! I am a big fan of all Modibodi products, but I really like the last one.
In a June 30 post, Ms. Brumfitt attached a disclaimer to the post while talking about several of her friends suffering from incontinence.
The 44-year-old then offered a solution by showing off a pair of underwear sold by Modibodi.
With absorbency up to 250ml and designed to manage incontinence discreetly, comfortably and without leaks or odours, Modibodi is like everyday underwear, but with an integrated leak-proof floating liner that completely replaces disposable incontinence pads or underwear…and always feel dry. ,’ she wrote.
In a post made on September 6, Ms. Brumfitt posted a photo of a bowl of Sam Remo pasta and a spaghetti recipe.
“I’ve loved, used and raved about Modibodi for over six years, you should definitely give it a try, you’ll love these too!”
Two separate posts made in October and November 2021 featured Ms. Brufmitt discussing the advantages of a Mazda BT-50 model.
It came after Ms Brumfitt received the vehicle and driving lessons from Edwardstown Mazda, a car dealer located in Adelaide, South Australia.
Ms. Brumfitt mentioned her association with the car dealership in another post she made on August 14.
She acknowledged her role as a dealer ambassador while swarming a CX-9.
“With a family of six, we need all the seats we can get,” he wrote.
Social media influencers are required to inform their followers of their association with a brand per the Australian Association of National Advertisers guidelines.
Another post showed Ms. Brumfitt dressed in a beanie and sweater while holding a bowl full of San Remo sauce and pasta.
An influencer must be “clear, obvious and candid to the audience” when it comes to advertising.
It comes a week after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) revealed that more than 100 social media influencers have been identified for investigation after more than 150 complaints to the government body.
The watchdog asked people to identify influencers who did not disclose when their posts constituted paid advertisements.
Influencers in the beauty and lifestyle industries were identified with the most problematic posts, while those in the parenting and fashion fields would also likely come under scrutiny.
ACCC President Gina Cass-Gottlieb said the organization would continue to investigate.
“We found that with online shopping, people take a lot of notice and are persuaded by influencers,” he said.
ACCC President Gina Cass-Gottlieb said the number of complaints was worrying and suggested that manipulation marketing techniques were on the rise.
He urged influencers to be upfront about any kind of financial benefit they receive for making these posts.
“We want them to be honest, we want them to be sincere.”
Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook and the live streaming service Twitch are being monitored by the watchdog.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Ms Brumfitt and the Australian Association of National Advertisers for comment.