I love the 'I wish we knew what was OK' - someone viewing the content, totally blind, needs to identify it as an advert without prompting. The only way to do that is to state it, up front, in the same format as the content itself. Not hidden away in some description, not in code, plain and simple. Anything less is obviously intending to deceive, and I see no reason to give anyone leeway to try and hide sponsorship.<p>If you want your sponsorship to come across as real and honest, then get someone to actually like your product, and then it won't matter that they disclose it, as they'll be able to explain why they like it in a convincing way. The only reason people want to hide the 'sponsored' element is that the product is bad, and paying people is the only way to get them to associate with it.<p>When I watch an Extra Credits video sponsored by a games company, it comes off as honest because it's clear that it's an advert and the content is still quality and obviously unaltered. When Purge (DOTA 2 personality), talks about DotaBuff, it still comes off as honest as he shows how he uses the service and what value it provides him. This can be done right, and is, by reputable people.
Yes. If you are paid to advertise something, it is an ad.<p>The law is having trouble catching up on this front, especially in a world where any YouTuber with an audience could potentially run undisclosed ads. Regulating people posting videos out of their basement sounds like a nightmare.<p>That said, I do my best to never support content creators that don't disclose ads or hide their disclosures in hashtags or below the "Show more" button in a YouTube description. That's not a real disclosure. You know it and I know it. That's why you put it there in the first place- because no one will see it.
This is an industry I'm familiar with and I'd love to hear some debate on this. In my opinion the industry resembles celebrity endorsements and product placement much more than digital advertising.<p>Do celebrities need to disclose they are being compensated to mention a brand on the red carpet?<p>Do movies need to start including #ad in scenes that have paid product placements?<p>The idea of endorsements and product placement go back for decades, and this is no different. What distinguishes this from the examples above, and if "ad" needs to be disclosed with influencer posts, why does it not need to be disclosed with celebrity endorsements and product placement?<p>While there are certainly exceptions (cough <i>Kardashians</i>) a heavy majority of influencers won't post about brands or products they don't genuinely like and believe their audience would be interested in. They won't muddy their name with a bad brand. So why do they need to be paid to post? Because they aren't going to spend the time to create and share content for free.
>“A few bloggers we work with say, ‘I want you to know, my engagement on posts that are tagged “#ad” or “#spon” get lower engagement than if that wasn’t there.’”<p>This sums up the issue pretty well. The advertisers are acting like there must be some compromise where readers are both informed and engaged, and the reality is that <i>knowing</i> is what disengages them.<p>That might be something they can overcome through the quality of the paid content, but they cannot be allowed to overcome it by deceiving people.
Is there currently a way to tell how much isn't too much to pay influencers or to know what others have paid? I have seen Instagram-famous with 250k followers asking for $5k for one single post in their demographic- but after calculating the ROI with many guess work and assumptions, it seems to be a lot worse than FB ad. The influencers often pitches themselves to be more "organic", or the ad is giving more "brand" effect that's hard to measure with traditional metrics. Sometimes this just feel like a new way of gambling and the seller has way more information and leverage than the buyer.
I'm not really clear on why anyone should care.<p>I recognize that my first reaction is an elitist "who cares what losers who 'follow' celebrities get sold on".<p>But even when I get past that, I can't figure out why I'd care. It doesn't sound like the FTC is in the business of determining what's a legitimate from-the-heart endorsement versus what's a paid endorsement anyway.<p>In the end, all that really seems to matter is truth in advertising. If she's making undocumented medical claims about something, and being paid to do so, doesn't the FTC already have a right to clamp down on it? Follow the dollars.<p>I imagine making undocumented medical claims for free fall under 'free speech'. So all they have to do is see if she's getting paid or not.
"Paid $75k to Love a Brand on Instagram – Is It an Ad?"<p>If you are a public figure paid 1 cent to endorse a product, then it is an ad. If you fail to clearly disclose this ad identity and relationship then it is dishonest, possibly criminal.<p>Nothing more to discuss. This specific situation is vastly beyond any possible gray area.
> Captiv8, a company that connects brands to influencers, says someone with three million to seven million followers can charge, on average, $187,500 for a post on YouTube, $75,000 for a post on Instagram or Snapchat and $30,000 for a post on Twitter.<p>Grey market indicator on the market value of the platforms themselves
So now we need ad blockers which could identify brands in tags and then block the entire image. I know it sounds absurd but so is modern advertising. They don’t seem to have any moral barrier. This is a war for protecting our privacy and the web as a whole.
They called out "Miranda Sings" for an Arby's commercial.<p>Looks like the girl is really spreading herself around!<p>Here's a Taco Bell commercial [1]
Another Taco Bell commercial [2]
Now we are doing Oreos! [3]<p>Everything undisclosed of course.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy_rqmSXpvg" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy_rqmSXpvg</a>
[2] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DDdBjOWXMQ" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DDdBjOWXMQ</a>
[3] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTYoI9diaQQ" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTYoI9diaQQ</a>
In my eyes, this kind of advertising has existed for quite a while, and is often times too subtle for most people to notice. Casey Neistat, one of the most popular daily vloggers on YouTube, is a great example of this. There are several recurring product placements in his videos, like the Boosted board, Samsung events, and certain airlines, for which there aren't any <i>clear</i> statements about. An example of these undisclosed partnerships/sponsorships was his 'surprise in South Africa' [0] video back from 2012, where it appears that the trip was sponsored by British Airways without any mention of it. At one point in the video, he makes it look like he's calling American Airlines, but in reality he didn't call (some comments back in the day called him out on it). On the other hand, he did mention that Samsung invited him to the Oscars.<p>I think most people will watch his videos regardless of whether he discloses his relationships, as was the case with the Nike 'make it count' [1] video which many (including me) found inspiring. However it is clear that it is becoming harder and harder to tell apart what is branded content/native advertising and what isn't.<p>[0] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Mg75awALA" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Mg75awALA</a>
[1] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxfZkMm3wcg" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxfZkMm3wcg</a>
As a marketing guy, I understand that an endorsement won't come across as genuine if it's clearly marked as an ad... but at at the same time it isn't genuine so there is no problem. Consumers reacting poorly to the realization that their favorite personalities were paid to like something is perfectly normal. I think the challenge to meet is how to make an authentic connection within a paid endorsement framework rather than trying to disguise a paid endorsement as just 'loving a brand.'
I actually have found that I am moving further and further away from using Instagram due to the ads. My feed is primary filled up with ads, links to other accounts with ads, and very few pictures that are worth actually following. But with the increase in teens using Instagram vs Facebook. I guess I understand the draw for advertisers.
Celebrity endorsements have been regulated by the FTC since the early days of television.[1] This isn't a new thing. It goes back much further. Mark Twain did a lot of endorsements.[2] It got completely out of hand in 1950s and 1960s TV, and the FTC put a stop to it.<p>The same rules apply on Instagram. Nothing new here, just an old bad idea coming around again.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking" rel="nofollow">https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/ftc...</a>
[2] <a href="http://celebritycred.com/history-of-endorsements/#foobox-1/0" rel="nofollow">http://celebritycred.com/history-of-endorsements/#foobox-1/0</a>
Personally I don't care if something is an ad or not. If it's someone that has some notoriety I sort of expect it. I love calling it out with something simple like "#ad" because I don't feel like I'm being deceived regardless of the clear distinction that the post would clearly be an ad without it. Having the simple hashtag just means that I can trust that the brand isn't trying to be deceitful.
There seems to be an overwhelming opinion here that all ads must declare themselves as such. Why is that? I hate ads as much as the next guy, but forcing media to label itself one way or another seems morally suspect, and could certainly run afoul of the principles of free speech and artistic freedom.
If you are paid to "like" something when you could care less and pose for a photo like you "love it", that's not an endorsement, that is a de facto legal bribe.
> there are no hard and fast rules.<p>This is untrue. There are regulations around paid endorsements: <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking#when" rel="nofollow">https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/ftc...</a>