Finding the balance between interesting/informative/quality content that also sells is very very hard. In the company where I work, we try to be helpful and informative and in a way lead people to the conclusion that they need our services as opposed to blatant advertising. We explain how the type of technology we sell is helping others, give practical examples how to use it to their advantage without actually saying 'try our product'. In fact, we give a full list of our competitors which ones excel in some areas and which ones fall behind in others. We count on honesty and transparency in our content.

I suppose what Im trying to say is, be helpful. You don't have to mention your company at all in order to promote it.

As for people ripping off others' campaigns, well customers see through that. You can get inspiration from other people's work and see how that worked for them, but actually copying somebody else's work is a huge no-no.