The Danish Consumer Council THINK has raised concerns about potential hidden advertising in the popular TV 2 program “Bachelorette.” The council’s senior lawyer, Jakob Steenstrup, suggests that the program may have violated advertising regulations by failing to disclose that one of the participants, Emma Sofie Nielsen, wore clothing from the brand Planet Nusa, which were gifted to her prior to filming.

TV 2 acknowledges that they should have investigated the origin of the clothing more thoroughly, calling it an “unfortunate mistake.” While the network denies any commercial collaboration with Planet Nusa, they recognize that the brand may have had an interest in having their clothes featured on the show.

The issue arose after DR revealed that Nielsen wore Planet Nusa clothing in several episodes. The Danish Consumer Council THINK believes that the lack of disclosure constitutes hidden advertising and that the broadcasts should have included a marking to indicate the commercial interest.

Steenstrup emphasizes the increasing prevalence of hidden advertising in today’s media landscape. He highlights the blurred lines between advertising and other content, particularly on social media, making it difficult for consumers to discern commercial interests.

TV 2 program director Thomas Strøbech asserts that hidden advertising has no place in the network’s programs and that they have a clear responsibility to ensure transparency. He explains that in this specific case, Nielsen was asked to bring workout clothes and included items she received from a relative employed at Planet Nusa and the network underlines that there was no paid deal.

Steenstrup clarifies that a formal agreement isn’t necessary for a violation to occur; receiving a gift from a company can be sufficient. He stresses that TV 2 bears the primary responsibility for disclosing any hidden advertising due to its position as the content provider and the Danish Consumer Council THINK considers the network to have a sharpened responsibility, given its resources, to recognize such risks.