Vloggers Receive New Advertising Guidance From ASA

Vloggers, the meshed name used to describe video bloggers, have some new advertising practices to follow. To simplify the rules, the UK Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP) has published official guidance for vloggers that need assistance.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) added the new rules after finding multiple paid promotions without any visible identifiers. A BBC journalist filed the complaint, which the ASA upheld.

All YouTube and Twitch.TV channels operating inside the UK must follow the advertising practices. The rules are enforced on more than just vlogging channels, meaning gaming, educational and news channels will be under the same standards.

The CAP guidance boils down to being upfront with the audience, detailing the paid promotion and seeking advice when stuck. More information is available on request, giving vloggers enough information to make smart decisions.

Most YouTube channels in the UK make sure to include information inside the video, in the title and in the description about the paid promotion. Gaming channels normally start the video with a mention that this is sponsored content.

YouTube, sadly, hasn’t added any stickers or signs to show a paid promotion. This would be an excellent way to give identifiers to the audience before clicking onto the video.

Vloggers are supposedly better at influencing their audience, by removing all of the normal barriers between content creators and the audience. By speaking directly to the audience, it instills more of a connection than a gaming channel or TV show would.

That connection cannot be abused, according to the ASA. Even though subtle mentions of products might not fall under the advertising standards, vloggers can be investigated for connections to a product or ad agency if they promote a product’s value

The United States and rest of Europe has not worked to install the same standards for content creators. While this might bring a few creators to move country, some of the biggest channels like PewDiePie (38 million subscribers), Yogscast (22 million) and Syndicate (9 million) are based in the UK and must adhere to the standards.

In another move to set the standard, the UK announced age ratings would be coming to YouTube and VEVO music videos.