New advertising guidelines mean YouTubers have to tell you when they're being paid to promote something

3 months ago

YouTube sensations like Zoe Sugg (Zoella), Louise Pentland (Sprinkle of Glitter) and Tanya Burr rake in major cash from recommending products in their very sincere sounding videos – but how many of those “amazing” lipsticks are real endorsements, and how many are paid sponsorships?

We’re about to find out just how many of those recommendations come from the heart, and how many are heavily influenced by the promise of getting some big dollar in return.

A Committee of Advertising Practice (Cap) has issued new guidance on what YouTube’s biggest names are going to have to disclose. This means that YouTube celebs are now advised to include text clarifying what content is sponsored and when a product placement is in place.

For instance, if a make-up guru includes a set of make-up brushes in a tutorial, and the editorial content is controlled by an advertiser, YouTubers must mark this by either providing on screen text stating the product placement, or verbally let their viewers know.

Vloggers advertising their own products like books, beauty ranges and diaries must be disclosed in the title, so that viewers are aware of what’s going to go down before they watch the video.

Shahriar Coupal, director of Cap, said: “Wherever ads appear we should be confident we can trust what an advertiser says; it’s simply not fair if we’re being advertised to and are not made aware of that fact.”

And what of the endless freebies handed out to Vloggers? Well, that’s not really covered by the Cap code. If a brand was to send a vlogger a new range of lipsticks and the brand has no control of the content, the Cap code does not insist that this needs to be labelled as an advertorial. However, if the lipsticks were given under the condition that the vlogger mentions the products, the YouTuber is expected to disclose this.