U.S. Chamber of Commerce Campaign: Fight Health-Care Reform -- And Win A
Trip To Hooters! Zachary Roth
<http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/zachary_roth/2009/12/13-week/\
> | December 16, 2009, 8:52AM
How'd you like to fight government-run health-care -- and get a
free gift card to Hooters out of it?
Well, now you can! And it's all thanks to the Chamber of Commerce.
Online ads have popped up lately, telling readers that they can win a
$150 Amex Gift Card for use at Hooters, if they complete a survey about
other offers. One of those urges them to sign up for "free emails" from
the Chamber of Commerce, which will explain "how to protect your
family's future and bring common sense solutions to the health-care
debate." In other words, getting involved with the Chamber's campaign
against reform.
These "incentivized ads" appear to be the favored new tactic of lobbying
groups looking to generate the appearance of grassroots support for
their positions.
What's going on here? The ads -- images of which were obtained by
TPMmuckraker, and which you can see here
<http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/documents/2009/12/health-care-industry\
-internet-lobbying-advertisement.php?page=1> -- are a product of the
Chamber's campaign to use the web to generate "grassroots" pressure
against health-care reform.
The Chamber contracts with a PR firm to handle the campaign, which then
sub-contracts with an online marketing firm that handles the process of
actually signing people up for the Chamber's campaign, an industry
source explained. The
Hooters card is the draw.
Blinking pop-up ads and web pages offer readers the card in return for
entering their names and personal information, and filling out a survey
asking if they want to sign up for various offers. In this case, those
offers range from agreeing to receive information about getting your
college degree online, to signing up for the Chamber's emails. (You can
also click 'no' not to sign up for each offer, and still get the Hooters
card. But chances are you'll sign up for a few.)
If other online campaigns are any guide, readers who sign up to receive
the Chamber's anti-reform emails are then enlisted in the business
lobby's campaign in a more active way -- for instance, by being asked to
send letters to lawmakers.
A similar campaign
<http://www.revenews.com/mikeallen/should-mypoints-award-points-for-poli\
tical-action/> last year offered "MyPoints" -- points-based rewards,
redeemable in the form of gift cards from theaters, restaurants,
airlines and hotels -- in return for sending an email to Congress on
behalf of the American Medical Association, urging lawmakers not to cut
Medicare doctor payments, a key AMA priority.
And we told you
<http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/12/pay-to-play-health-ins\
urers-exchanging-fake-facebook-money-for-anti-reform-letters.php> about
how Facebook users were offered virtual currency in return for sending
an email to Congress opposing health-care reform, on behalf of a health
insurers lobby group. (Both the lobby group and the firm it hired, 720
Strategies, told TPMmuckraker
<http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/12/if_youre_an_industry_\
trade.php> their contract forbids such "incentivized ads," and that the
ad was faked, though it's unclear by who.)
A Chamber spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
http://snipurl.com/tqepp [tpmmuckraker_talkingpointsmemo_com]
