A recent marketing campaign by Floki Inu on the London underground has caused a real stir, with one politician branding the campaign ‘unethical’. BSC News speaks to both sides in the debate.
Floki Inu Underground
Transport for London (TfL) has been urged to crack down on cryptocurrency adverts after a member of the London regional assembly condemned them. Sian Berry, a Green party politician, has taken an interest in the topic after Floki Inu ran an ad campaign on the London Underground.
Despite headlines in a number of publications implying that the complaint has led to a crackdown, the plea seems thus far to have had little impact. Following the increased scrutiny, Transport for London was keen to clarify its position.
“Since 2018, we have asked our advertising partners to refer all cryptocurrency advertising to us for review prior to it running on our estate,” Chris Reader, head of commercial media at Transport for London (TfL), told Business Insider on Monday.
“When reviewing copy now from cryptocurrency brands who wish to advertise on our estate, we ensure that campaigns contain sufficient information to comply with both our policy and the ASA [Advertising Standards Authority] ruling.”
It was a balanced and fair response from the transport body but it will do little to satisfy the Green party politician who has placed the memecoin in her sights. Berry has demanded that the adverts be banned both on trains and at stations.
“Where the advert says ‘this is completely unregulated, you may lose all your money’, they ought to have had second thoughts,” said the former Green party group leader in an interview with the Guardian on November 13th. “I don’t think cryptocurrency ads should be on the network. They’re unethical.”
The Streisand Effect
While the recent calls to end crypto ads could be seen as a negative for the industry as a whole, the immediate winner in this instance appears to be Floki Inu. The controversy has won the memecoin major press coverage in mainstream UK media outlets, generating even more free publicity for the coin.
While the initial Floki Inu ad campaign was limited only to the UK underground and stations, the increased scrutiny and press coverage has won additional exposure for the memecoin right around the country.
To get a better perspective on the story, BSC News spoke to a community member who has played a pivotal role in the marketing successes of Floki Inu.
“Even if it is banned we’ll have the Streisand effect in action,” said the community team insider. “The attention it’s going to get puts further focus on FLOKI. That said, the ads are running just fine to my knowledge.”
The Streisand effect is the name given to the phenomenon in which the attempt to hide or censor information instead leads to the information gaining a greater profile or publicity than it otherwise would have received.
The effect is named after the singer Barbara Streisand, who in 2003 brought a court case to prevent a photograph of her residence in Malibu from being published. The court case not only brought greater attention to her residence in the short term but coined the “Streisand effect” epithet which sustains the home in the public consciousness.
Sian Berry Statement
BSC News reached out to Sian Berry for comment and to question why the politician was singling out crypto and Floki Inu for criticism.
“I am not singling out crypto on its own but am concerned about many kinds of advertising that target people’s financial or personal worries, and want a much wider review that also takes environmental concerns into account,” she told BSC News.
“The extreme reaction to my concern from people already involved in this scheme increases my worry that this could be a risky pyramid style bubble that Londoners should be very cautious about.
“My effort to limit these ads is just one aspect of a much wider review of advertising rules on the public transport network, which includes restrictions on adverts by repressive regimes, payday lenders, gambling companies and those that promote an unhealthy body image.”
While the Floki Inu community may or may not appreciate being lumped in with repressive regimes, payday lenders, gambling, and looking sexy, it is clear that Berry is a concerned individual on a wider crusade to change advertising rules in London.
As for the risks of investing in memecoins, we remind everyone of the simple ‘golden rule’ of crypto: DYOR – do your own research.
About Floki Inu
Floki Inu began with a tweet from Elon Musk. When the billionaire announced he would name his Shiba Inu puppy Floki, it created a deluge of ‘Floki’ dogcoins. The most successful of these is Floki Inu. Floki Inu is currently the third most popular meme token on the market behind Dogecoin and Shiba Inu. It is backed by a community of committed enthusiasts and a strong marketing campaign.
Where else to find out about Floki Inu:
Source : bsc.news
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