ASA publishes new guidelines for vloggers
In response to calls from vloggers for greater clarity surrounding commercial partnerships, the Advertising Standards Authority has published new guidance to help them better understand how and when advertising rules apply to their vlogs.
The guidelines come following the banning of a number of video blogs which the ASA deemed to be ‘misleading’ because they did not make clear before consumers engaged with the material that they were ads and part of a commercial partnership.
The advertising rules, which apply across all media – from video to social media channels – state that ads must be obviously identifiable as such.
The ASA states that if a vlogger is paid to promote a product or service and an advertiser controls the message then it becomes an ad. When that happens, like all advertisers, vloggers must be upfront and clearly signpost that they are advertising.
Kim Kardashian is the latest to come under fire from advertising watchdogs for promoting a morning sickness drug on her Instagram account, which last week US regulators ordered be taken down for breaking advertising laws.
Advertisers Proctor & Gamble and Mondelez have also had vlogger YouTube videos banned for not making it clear that they were sponsored.
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“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,” said Shahriar Coupal, director of the Committees of Advertising Practice, sister body of the ASA.
“Our guidance will give vloggers greater confidence that they’re sticking to the rules which in turn will help maintain the relationship and trust they’ve built with their followers.”
The new guidelines cover eight scenarios – from ‘advertorial vlogs’ and product placement, to commercial breaks within vlogs and brand sponsorship – however, do not cover or prohibit vloggers from entering into commercial relationships, nor influence editorial opinion.
The ASA also states that brands and agencies looking to partner with vloggers need to be transparent.
“Any advertiser or agency that asks a vlogger not to be up-front (disclose) that they’re advertising are asking them to break the advertising rules and potentially the law.”
– Online marketing by a brand – where a brand collaborates with a vlogger and makes a vlog about the brand and/or its products and shares it on its own social media channels
– “Advertorial” vlogs – a whole video is in the usual style of the vlogger but the content is controlled by the brand and the vlogger has been paid
– Commercial breaks within vlogs – where most of the vlog is editorial material but there’s also a specific section dedicated to the promotion of a product
– Product placement – independent editorial content that also features a commercial message
– Vlogger’s video about their own product – the sole content of a vlog is a promotion of the vlogger’s own merchandise
– Editorial video referring to a vlogger’s products – a vlogger promotes their own product within a broader editorial piece
– Sponsorship – a brand sponsors a vlogger to create a video but has no control of the content
– Free items – a brand sends a vlogger items for free without any control of the content of the vlog