PARIS |
(Reuters) - The rise of video-sharing websites such as YouTube and Dailymotion is proving to be a headache for some of France's biggest companies as their image comes under fire from satirical online videos.
The aim behind humorous video clips can vary -- some are made by film producers as publicity stunts, others simply for fun -- but the potentially global impact and unpredictable nature of the clips can make them difficult for companies to contain.
"Brands were in the mindset of having one message, one broadcast," Emmanuel Vivier, chief executive of marketing agency Vanksen, said. "Now people reply to the brands' messages, remix them, redistribute them... impacting their reputation.
"It's becoming harder and harder to tell the difference between a real advert and a fake one," he said.
French grocer Carrefour, the second-biggest retailer in the world, was last month forced to disown and condemn a fake video advert that implied its discount food range contained human remains.
The video, which first appeared on Google site YouTube in early December, depicts an angelic little girl munching reluctantly on her grandmother's bones as her parents egg her on.
"It was a concern for us," a Carrefour spokeswoman said. "It did not give a good image for the brand."
