Fil-Brit influencer James Deakin will reportedly file charges against a food establishment that used his photo without his consent. Here’s what happened. 

Businesses should aim to have great customer testimonials—especially since that helps a lot in building credibility and establishing trust in a brand. This is because it works as a way to show potential customers the positive experience that comes with what they offer.

Positive testimonials can come from anyone, but it comes with a price for people who have a massive following on their accounts—given that it can be treated as an endorsement. This practice is more commonly known as influencer-generated content (IGC), or simply having influencers promote a certain brand. It even counts as user-generated content (UGC), which is popular nowadays in social media. 

However, it is important to note that consent from the influencer or owner is key for any type of content—especially if it's not yours, to begin with. This is why using an influencer’s content without permission or even using parts of someone's content to promote your brand is a wrong practice that is frowned upon and can even get your brand canceled.

Such is the case with Filipino-British TV personality James Deakin, who found out that his face was being used to promote a local food establishment. In this case study, we delve into what happened and what can be learned from this.

What Happened?

On his Facebook page, James Deakin posted, “Imagine a fast-food company blatantly stealing your image and passing it off as an ad, even going as far as using the image on their illuminated menu board since 2019. And once their attention is called, sila pang galit. (and they’re the ones getting upset) Wow. Could have been easily resolved with [an] apology sana. Time to lawyer up.” 

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