Beirut/NTSC voted blog of the year by the Lebanese consumer.

The title of this post may have been true, or false. Or perhaps true... Confused? Great, so am I. In the past couple of weeks three TV ads appeared having the logo "Voted product of the year by the Lebanese consumer" - they are namely, Revitalift from l'Oreal, Puk cheese, and Special K from Kellogg's. I am usually very wary of such signs, but to apply them on heavily aired TV ads gives the products in question credibility and in trun gives the award in question exposure and reconnaissance.
But here's my question(s): Who was the consumer sample? Was it biased? Was it representative? How was the data gathered? By one on one interview? By phone interview? By questionnaire? Was the questionnaire open-ended or closed-ended?
For many of you, these questions are trivial, but anyone connected - even remotely - to surveying and research will automatically grasp the major issues I am trying to raise. In any survey there is the inherent question of the bias - anywhere from the initial sample, to the method of surveying and even in the results themselves.
Now comes my biggest problem: WHO FINANCED THE SURVEY?
Can you imagine? If I distribute product X in the market, and I finance the study, then product X will come on top - don't you agree? Maybe this whole entreprise is very legitimate, but as someone who has participated in numerous studies, researches and surveys, I can tell you this: It is very easy for me to get the results I want from any research (luckily, I don't do it).
And with this: Beirut/NTSC has been elected blog of the year.
Do you dare dispute? I can show you the data if you wish!