Marketer David Berkowitz was surprised (and none too pleased) to discover that Blockbuster was using his name and likeness in advertisements that appeared on his friends' Facebook profiles. Berkowitz later found himself unintentionally endorsing an application he feels only so-so about; and another friend of his appeared in a Blockbuster ad for the movie Jackass 2.5.
True, Berkowitz had registered as a "fan" of Blockbuster's Facebook page, but he didn't know that this constituted an agreement to appear in the company's ads. Who would? If I say that I like a particular product on my blog, why would I think that gives the manufacturer a license to turn me into a company mascot?
Muddying the waters a bit is the nature of Facebook's News Feed. When I declare myself a Fan of a company's Page, that event is displayed in all of my friends' feeds. As the description of Pages says:
When your fans interact with your Facebook Page, the actions they take are automatically generated into social stories. These stories are published to News Feed, which friends may see the next time they log into Facebook. The stories link back to your Facebook Page, inviting more people to interact with it, which generates more social stories and drives even more traffic to your Page. Think of it as word-of-mouth marketing, only completely free and happening online.
Much like Jim Carrey's life in The Truman Show, my interactions with brands on Facebook are broadcast to others as part of a marketing campaign. However, those "social stories" are told through actions taken on my initiative: "Wade just did X on Page Y. If you love Y too, get on board!" Furthermore, I can hide those interactions from the News Feed using Facebook's privacy settings. I do not have any control over social ads: no way to prevent companies from putting my name and face in ads, and no way of preventing them from showing those ads to my friends. When I lose control this way, it doesn't make me feel like a valued customer. It makes me feel like a serf.
It also potentially wreaks havoc with our reputations online. It's not as if I present myself as some sort of John Houseman figure here, but I most definitely don't want my personal brand associated with Jackass 2.5.
Looking at this from a user perspective, the solution to protect myself is simple: don't join groups, add applications, make myself a fan of anything, or interact with anyone but actual people. (Or quit Facebook altogether.)
But from a marketer's perspective, I'd like to see Facebook users continue to do those things, and I'd like to see companies engage those users in fun, creative, and empowering ways. So how about Facebook requiring companies to get people's explicit approval before using their names and faces in ads? It seems like a fairly reasonable thing to ask.