No product placement logos for vloggers, says ASA
- Published
Vloggers who receive money to talk about certain products are being warned to make it obvious to their audiences... again.
This is the third time the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has released "guidance" of this kind since 2013.
Eight examples of how creators might work with brands have been offered by the regulator make things clearer.
However, it stopped short of recommending using a standard logo, like the one often seen on television.
The product placement logo appears in the opening credits of The X Factor and Coronation Street
Vloggers regularly get paid in exchange for promoting certain products to audiences.
However authorities are concerned those watching might mistakenly believe the vlogger is choosing to talk about a product just because they like it - something that would break advertising laws.
In the past popular vloggers have told us they only talk about products they genuinely like - whether paid to do it or not.
But tie-ins with advertisers can vary - some might play a game named after a product but other deals might involve the vlogger wearing a necklace without having to directly talk about it.
As a result vloggers complained to Newsbeat that the previous ASA guidance wasn't quite clear enough.
The latest guidelines give eight scenarios when a vlogger might need clarification on what to do:
When a vlogger makes a vlog about a brand which is asking them to do it
When a whole vlog looks like normal, but the content has been decided by a company who has paid to get their product promoted
When a whole vlog is made about a product, even when the company have not decided exactly what is said
Where a commercial break is put into a vlog
When any product placement is featured, even if the vlog is not about the product
When a vlogger makes a video about their own merchandise
When a vlogger talks about a product they were sent for free
With examples such as paid-for video or product promotion, then a word like "ad" or "advert" must be clearly displayed - and not just in the details section below a video.
Vloggers are being told to contact the ASA for advice if they think anything else they are planning might be in danger of breaking the rules.
The television watchdog Ofcom has very strict rules about product placement and insists broadcasters include an on-screen logo.
A product placement symbol appears in the opening titles of Coronation Street on ITV
But Shahriar Coupal from the ASA says videos on sites like YouTube will not have to do the same.
"We think the terms ad, advertisement, advertising feature are clear and we are giving those terms to vloggers to put on their vlogs," he says.
"If they use those terms, or terms that have clearly the same meaning, then there should be no problem."
In other words, no standard logo or phrase will be introduced.
He also denied it was in vloggers' interests to try to conceal when a vlog was the result of an advertising deal: "The worst thing a vlogger wants to do is lose trust with their audience.
"They want to comply with UK advertising codes and keep faith with their audience."
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