A flaw in a diamond is called an inclusion, and if there’s an inclusion in the diamond you gave your significant other, she’ll find it. Like the diamond analogy, if there’s a flaw in your ad, consumers will find it. Such is the case with the recent “Laptop Hunters” Microsoft ad, in which a random person in the market for a new laptop is given $1,000 to find what they are looking for and if they find it, they can have it.

This ad, however, has become a testament to how important it is to be transparent and honest in today’s digital world. Shortly after the spot came out, tech-savvy fanboys started to dissect it, discovering that, Lauren, the “random person” selected to participate in the gimmick was actually a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild.

The fanboys smelled an imposter, so they took to analyzing the commercial frame by frame. They noticed that the random person walking by when she walks into the Apple store (about 14 seconds in) is the same “random” person walking by when she walks out of the store, and not just that, but that same person is in just about the same spot when she walks out. This observation combined with the information that the girl in the ad is a SAG member spurred talks of whether the event was staged.

What can we learn? While it is important to keep your message consistent across all platforms, simply posting your ad on the web and trying to pass it off as user-generated just wont work.

At The Cyphers Agency, we embrace unique opportunities to show the value of your brand in honest and transparent ways. If you’d like to talk about how you can get people talking about your brand in a positive light, give us a call, we’d love to hear from you.