A PYMNTS Company

Italy Probes Covert Advertising Of British American Tobacco On Social Media

By  |  May 31, 2021

Italy’s Antitrust regulator announced on Monday, May 31, that it has launched a probe into the Italian unit of British American Tobacco (BAT). The announcement alleged covert advertising of the company’s tobacco heating product Glo Hyper on social media.

The watchdog said in a statement that three influencers, who have commercial agreements with BAT, invited their followers on Instagram to publish content linked to Glo Hyper, without specifying that it was advertising.

BAT Italia said in a statement that it was convinced it had acted in a correct manner and was confident the outcome of the probe would demonstrate this.

“(What happened) is a new situation, which does not fall under the authority’s guidelines, where over-age followers are encouraged to post photos of their life passions, tagging Glo,” the statement added.

It added that the Finance Police had carried out inspections in BAT offices on May 27.

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.