Let us know what you think about creators and brand sponsorships and how that impacts your trust in RUclips channels! And let us know topics you might be interested in us covering in future episodes!
RUclips should be called NarcissismTube. I love RUclips for the educational and political commentary mostly, but the way that it and other social media platforms amplify the lowest aspects of humanity is disturbing.
The Truman Show satirized this exact phenomenon: The star, Truman Burbank, was an authentic personality, but the world he inhabited was entirely geared toward product placement. It's amazing how prescient that movie was. Here's a fun drinking game: take a shot whenever you see product placement in The Truman Show.
+David Shi The Meta-irony is that they were paid for those product placements in a movie supposedly griping about product placements. This shows just how much Hollywood is the pinnacle of hypocrisy, and why most stars are champagne socialist SJWs. Leftist capacity for cognitive dissonance is infinite, apparently.
I rarely comment on RUclips videos honestly but: You guys seriously deserve more views and subscribers! I try to make sure to share videos from this channel whenever it's relevant to an internet argument/discussion I'm having with people online nowdays just because I want to see this channel get more exposure. Keep up the good work guys. I greatly appreciate the detailed (even if understandably short) takes you guys do for educating/informing viewers out there. Just my quirky way of trying to say remember you're being appreciated by people regardless of how long it takes to match any subscriber count goals of other PBS digital studio channels :)
Utikayr torrentor thank you so much for taking the time to make a (rare) comment. It really means a lot and keeps us going to hear from people like you who appreciate the work!
I appreciate it when creators clearly and concisely inform that their doing a sponsorship. It lets me know that whats said about the product doesn't necessarily reflect the opinions of the creator; regardless of whether or not the creator actually uses or enjoys the product being advertised. I wish the rest of our media landscape did the same.
I feel it's very dishonest, and can potentially harm the RUclipsr. Ads generally exist outside of a given broadcast's or publication's content, and are clear to the consumer as ads. This is due to what advertising is intended to do; inform that a product, event or service exists and try to entice people to try it (specifically people new to the brand) without much risk to the media creator's reputation in the process. The protection of a media purveyor's reputation the reason why so many infomercials start with a disclaimer about the infomercial not reflecting the opinions of the station that broadcasts it. That reputation is built on the consumer's trust, specifically the trust that the person making the media that people are consuming aren't trying to convince them to do something that they wouldn't otherwise do. Having the ad integrated in a given RUclips video undermines that trust between content creator and their audience; especially once they become aware of it. If you audience thinks that you are here just to sell them something, and nothing more, then they'll stop watching.
This is definitely your best episode yet! I’d say the topic gets even hairier when you start considering Patreon support. Gives a veneer of “for the people”, but often is just another income stream for the same promotional content, and poisons the perception of artists without ad-based revenue.
This is a great video! It's nice to see youtubers talking candidly about this issue. I remember when SciShow first got sponsorship and started doing little plugs at the end of their episodes - i wasn't offended or irritated; I was happy to see that a company was helping one of my favorite youtube channels keep doing their thing. It made me respect the brands who chose to sponsor.
I agree. When sponsors are presented as helping to support a channel (especially one that might not be very lucrative, like educational media), it feels more genuine and compelling than other styles of product placement, even if they don't really differ below the surface.
I think Destin and Hank pretty much summed it up - take the responsibility of having a huge audience seriously, or you'll end up irreversibly losing credibility.
I don't mind it when they say in the video that it's sponsored, because then I know I can watch what follows like an ad, instead of like a review. I know that RUclipsrs and other influencers have to do this, and if I was one and liked the product, I probably also wouldn't miss the opportunity. To me, being honest about it is what's most important.
I tend to ignore the noise. There are some channels that I subscribe to that do promotional ads within their videos, and when they do those spots, I merely ignore them. I understand they've got to keep the lights on.
+1 I'm from France, and this topic is almost taboo there. People feel that a youtuber promoting a product is degrading himself/herself. Hence, most of the youtubers either explain that the add comes from their network, or they hide the add itself. imo Linus Tech tips has the proper way, they do live from adds, they show them clearly and they are smart enough to show adds from companies that are related to their area of interest. Unlike the random google add engine that puts adds about shady companies/lobbies on videos unrelated, ie in france seeing adds from NRA is kinda weird x) good luck for the channel!
I prefer to know if a video is sponsored. Most of the channels I watch are normally not sponsored. They might share a product once in a while, but they are clear when it’s a sponsored video or if it’s just a product they love.
Thanks for the video! It's already worth a lot if people become more aware of it. How you deal with that information is everyone's decision, but you should at least know about it. Ideally when the creator states it clearly, but at least they should know that they should be skeptical whenever a product of a specific brand is being promoted.
The moment a youtuber I follow tries to pass an endorsement under the radar without letting the audience know is when they lose all trust from me. I can understand why they would do it if they're living on their own or have other stuff going on but in an age of patreon subscriptions, merch sales, paypal donations and more, to accept and pass these endorsements secretly just shows me where their priorities are at that moment. Which is why I'd unfollow them since there's already enough advertisements in the real world and in every other medium and I'd rather not deal with it here as well.
+Above The Noise It depends on the content in question, if it was a beauty product and the content is a vlog/review of the product in question I can see the video being enhanced by the sponsorship since it gives the creator more money to make more videos and adds new subject matter for that type of video. However, the difference between a creator trying to integrate a product to improve their video vs just trying to subtly pass of an ad to make some extra cash isn't easy to find. What I look for above all is honesty, I've yet to see how being upfront about an endorsement makes a video worse.
I hate it when people try to integrate the product into the video, I always feel like I've been cheated! It works a lot better when they talk about the product at the very end, because then I can just skip it. Giving the viewer a choice in what they see is important, and builds more trust in that brand. It's been interesting to see how PBS and PBSDS shows have handled sponsors, are there any official rules governing this?
What's interesting is that when speaking to younger fans at VidCon, almost all of them thought that it was cool when RUclipsrs integrated products into their videos as seamlessly as possible. In the U.S., most of the rules regarding sponsorships come from the FTC. Bottom line is, if there is some sort of paid endorsement, that disclosure has to be made to the viewer. The FTC offers guidelines about how these disclosures should be made.
I pretty much assume at all time that if an influencer is talking about a product, they are getting paid. However, there are a few voices that I trust more than others.
Above The Noise that is a great question. One that I haven't gave a serious thought to until now. I think I trust people who are more critical of things they talk about, so they don't always have favorable opinions on products from even their favorite brands. I trust them even more if they have an opinion that's contrary to the popular view.
As long as they disclose the sponser I'm all for it. I realize that ad revenue isn't super reliable and I trust that most RUclipsrs I watch care about what they're selling. For what its worth I've never been steered wrong by their recommendations because their taste tend to line up with mine. I've discovered some of my favorite games,anime,and music thanks to the likes of Markipler, ProZd, Jacksepticeye, and Game Grumps. You can hoot and holler about shills and sellouts all you want, but that term overused and , more often than not, misused. To me, one is only a shill or a sellout if they change who they are or the style of their material to fit the brand, or sell something they clearly don't believe in. People get too eger to jump on the "sellout" bandwagon the second they get a sponser of any kind.
Thankfully a lot of the content creators I watch tend to be very transparent with their sponsorships, and I definitely think it would be a violation of my trust in them as a consumer of their content if they weren't. I do, however, place a lot less trust in promotions when the creator doesn't have anything bad to say about a product or when they're too obvious. I generally fast forward 'til they're done in those situations.
I don't mind sponsored videos because I want my favorite youtubers to make a decent living so they can keep making great content. That being said, it is an absolute MUST for me that the youtuber disclose the sponsorship in the video (not just in the description somewhere). All my favorite youtubers do this. In fact, failure to clearly disclose means the youtuber won't make it on my favorites list.
I've always hated that videos are tied so heavily to money now. When the ADpocalypse hit even small to medium sized channels were bashing RUclips for taking their money away. What ever happened to people making videos just for the fun of it or to teach someone something that they enjoyed doing? It has gotten to the point that I wouldn't believe any "influencer" even if they told me that the video wasn't sponsored. I don't watch any videos labeled as ads. I am not so anti money though, that if RUclips puts an ad at the front of someones video, the person who made the video should get a portion of that. I don't think RUclips should be the only one to profit off the platform.
I think you've made many good points. However, at the end of the day, there are far too many people with vastly different views/tastes to really be able to cater to all of a channel's viewers. If someone went out and bought that game because the content creator said they liked it but that person then hated it, that is not the fault of the youtuber. The consumer should've gone into the store with even more research on said game if what the youtuber presented in their review (which should always include a synopsis/summary and some gameplay/usage) was not enough to make an informed decision. So even if they are getting paid off for endorsing a product they may not like, it isn't the RUclipsr's fault that their fans blindly followed them and did not make an informed decision for themselves. Another point I wish to make involves content creators that try to sneak ads in without telling you until it's too late. I know I'm calling out a channel (it is a good channel I still watch them but I do not like the new direction of ads) but The Infographics Show actually changed their advertising style so that by the end of the video, you couldn't tell where the video stopped and the ad began until it was too late. I think my biggest issue with this is that I thought I was goint to receive more closing info about the topic of the video, instead I got an advertisement for a website creator or something which caused a lack of completion in the video itself. Very annoying. I would really prefer it if they (content creators) would just say it out loud that the video is being sponsored and give a brief explanation as opposed to sneaking it up on you like that. Another one I find annoying is when they stop in the very middle of the video to talk about their sponsor that has nothing to do with the subject of the video (here's looking at some science videos interjected by blue apron or something else completely unrelated) as well as those advertisements that feel as long as an entire commercial block and in a short video, that could be about half of the entire video going to advertisements and not what I came for. Quite unpleasant. Some things I would like to see in terms of advertising on youtube: Make the ads match the content. (more seamless transitions, less of a feeling of having something sold to the consumers) Announce that you've been sponsored. (it's simply a better practice to be honest about it. If the videos call for some immersion of some kind, see above) Only have your in-content advertisement mentioned before or after the video content. (None of that in-the-middle bullshit) Keep them short (half a minute to one minute should be long enough for an advertisement unless it's relevent to the content. If ads are over that, I skip or end it early. I didn't come to your videos to listen to you talk about anything other than what you created for the video and I'm sure many others feel the same way.)
This problem really applies to any influencers on the internet, and can't just easily be solved because the internet is impossible to regulate. It also doesn't really matter for the companies if the sponsored video or post already has made enough publicity to the point in which adding that it was sponsored afterwards doesn't do much effect. I think the "easiest" fix to this problem would be to have RUclips, Twitter and other social media platforms automatically detect when the video or the post might be sponsored. This way, influencers are more likely to care about trust from the audiences, and companies won't be able to sneak ads in videos as easily. Of course, this is pretty damn hard to do considering how much they are struggling right now to detect ad-friendly videos, but this will address some of the issues. We will also need to start enforcing some of the rules, but trying to force influencers and companies to do so won't result in much of a solution at all.
Above The Noise I think they will eventually, but the situation right now doesn't make it too serious for Google, Twitter, etc. as well as the people watching. But eventually I think this kind of sponsorships will get out of hand in which Google, Twitter, etc. would start caring.
Some devils advocate: Ads on TV don't have the big name actors state that they were paid or even use the product usually, since endorsement usually implies payment with celebrities and at the end of the day influencers are just smaller celebrities. The main difference between influencers and celebrities is that many RUclipsrs aren't professional actors, so they aren't trained to be good at lying, usually. The use of most influencers are like how the "not real actors" type of ads try to gain some more legitimacy, but even in those ads they people are compensated in some way to make them view the product more positively. So disclosure is still necessary because being payed or freely given a product causes a that influencer to put more value in that product than it may be worth, inherently changing their perspective from a normal consumer. Also it's like how reviews are a technically a type of ad, especially when the product is freely given, but since it critically raises a products faults and achievements they are not considered ads usually. Besides that I'm mainly concerned with whether the ad, by an influencer or otherwise, is entertaining. I even subscribe to a few brandname channels because they make entertaining ads. A lot of ads are just not worth my time and not present anything interesting. Ads are just like any content on YT at the end of the day, just short form videos, if the video isn't entertaining then it's not going to get watched or shared.
There's that new security-guarded mural in LA that only allows verified influencers to take pics in front of it, which itself is an ad for an upcoming web series!
So, worse than hidden advertising is a common phenomenon that was, and probably still is, in the gaming community, loot boxes and gambling sites. It was found that many CSGO RUclipsrs actually owned or were paid by the skin trading sites they'd pitch to their fans, meaning the wins and chances of winning were always in their favor. That's clearly wrong, and possibly illegal. Folks like Destin who straight up say that they're being paid, but still give an honest opinion are fine. They, and we, should keep in mind that their opinion is biased by that payment though.
Hey Myles, coming at ya with a slightly different angle. Can you trust an influencer's word on product/brand that they only used for a short period of time? 🤔
It's summer, and after I've responded to a bunch of RUclips comments, I love relaxing with an ice-cold Country Time Lemonade. Nothing says summer like Country Time.
Chex Mix number one food snack in the land. It's the cereal taste that you eat with your hand. Chex Mix at your local grocer buy your box. Your family will all say Chex Mix rocks!
I once watched a video that I'm pretty sure was an ad for Amino but I can't remember if it was stated. The video didn't completely blend in with her other video but it kind of did at the same time and also kind of made you want to download Amino.
No I think the FCC pretty specific, there must be a disclosure right at the start of the video, and it must not be possible to watch without first knowing it's sponsored.
Fortunately Shadow of Mordor was decent, but Warner Bros. practices surrounding that game were ABHORRENT!! Reviewers with review copies were not allowed to criticize the game in any way, and were forced into a format.
I trust my favourite creators only , like you know guys actually I have signed up for curiosity stream due to PBS it's okay to be smart , hope I become one soon
Seeing Markimoo doing ads for Axe is HILARIOUS. He's remarkably bad at it and Axe is a shit product, so in this case my estimation of his taste levels sank dramatically. I don't Care that he's doing it, just wish it wasn't so painful to watch and was a better product. Make that bank influences, the adpocoloypse isn't making it easy for people.
Funny you should mention it. BoyInABand put it to the next level promoting his beard in the first video and then removing it with a sponsorship for some shaving cream or something like that. Fuck... that was too much!
Hold up, Destin Sandlin has a pretty fucking awesome channel, but he does plenty of those sponsored ads. There’s a popular audiobook service that advertises through him directly talking about their service in his videos (I’m sure you can guess which one), as well as a mattress company, a fresh food delivery company, a website creator company, and I think there have been a couple of online learning platforms that he’s plugged. He’s also done a whole video on 23 and Me, plugging not just the concept of recreational gene mapping but that specific gene mapping service. There’s no way he doesn’t understand his role as an influencer. If he’s not even interested in looking at it, then I dare say he’s not as interested in getting Smarter Everyday as he claims to be.
The sad thing is many of the top earners shouldn't be getting that money. We should be putting it into things like this channel and SciShow, but instead a kid effectively gets paid to play with toys and others get paid to play games and yell into a camera. All of this silly shit is why pure capitalism is depressing.
Let us know what you think about creators and brand sponsorships and how that impacts your trust in RUclips channels! And let us know topics you might be interested in us covering in future episodes!
RUclips should be called NarcissismTube. I love RUclips for the educational and political commentary mostly, but the way that it and other social media platforms amplify the lowest aspects of humanity is disturbing.
Why don't you talk about what social network flamethrouers do with topics such as the famous Covid19? Greetings, from Spain with love!
The Truman Show satirized this exact phenomenon: The star, Truman Burbank, was an authentic personality, but the world he inhabited was entirely geared toward product placement. It's amazing how prescient that movie was.
Here's a fun drinking game: take a shot whenever you see product placement in The Truman Show.
David Shi great movie! And yes, we thought about it a lot walking around VidCon seeing everyone live broadcasting themselves all the time.
+David Shi The Meta-irony is that they were paid for those product placements in a movie supposedly griping about product placements. This shows just how much Hollywood is the pinnacle of hypocrisy, and why most stars are champagne socialist SJWs. Leftist capacity for cognitive dissonance is infinite, apparently.
I rarely comment on RUclips videos honestly but: You guys seriously deserve more views and subscribers! I try to make sure to share videos from this channel whenever it's relevant to an internet argument/discussion I'm having with people online nowdays just because I want to see this channel get more exposure. Keep up the good work guys. I greatly appreciate the detailed (even if understandably short) takes you guys do for educating/informing viewers out there.
Just my quirky way of trying to say remember you're being appreciated by people regardless of how long it takes to match any subscriber count goals of other PBS digital studio channels :)
Utikayr torrentor thank you so much for taking the time to make a (rare) comment. It really means a lot and keeps us going to hear from people like you who appreciate the work!
I appreciate it when creators clearly and concisely inform that their doing a sponsorship. It lets me know that whats said about the product doesn't necessarily reflect the opinions of the creator; regardless of whether or not the creator actually uses or enjoys the product being advertised. I wish the rest of our media landscape did the same.
So how do you feel about sponsorships where the RUclipsr is trying his or her best to integrate the ad into the video?
I feel it's very dishonest, and can potentially harm the RUclipsr. Ads generally exist outside of a given broadcast's or publication's content, and are clear to the consumer as ads. This is due to what advertising is intended to do; inform that a product, event or service exists and try to entice people to try it (specifically people new to the brand) without much risk to the media creator's reputation in the process. The protection of a media purveyor's reputation the reason why so many infomercials start with a disclaimer about the infomercial not reflecting the opinions of the station that broadcasts it. That reputation is built on the consumer's trust, specifically the trust that the person making the media that people are consuming aren't trying to convince them to do something that they wouldn't otherwise do. Having the ad integrated in a given RUclips video undermines that trust between content creator and their audience; especially once they become aware of it. If you audience thinks that you are here just to sell them something, and nothing more, then they'll stop watching.
This is definitely your best episode yet! I’d say the topic gets even hairier when you start considering Patreon support. Gives a veneer of “for the people”, but often is just another income stream for the same promotional content, and poisons the perception of artists without ad-based revenue.
This is a great video! It's nice to see youtubers talking candidly about this issue.
I remember when SciShow first got sponsorship and started doing little plugs at the end of their episodes - i wasn't offended or irritated; I was happy to see that a company was helping one of my favorite youtube channels keep doing their thing. It made me respect the brands who chose to sponsor.
Mystee Pulcine thanks - that’s an interesting take. May we be so lucky someday to get that kind of sponsorship!
I agree. When sponsors are presented as helping to support a channel (especially one that might not be very lucrative, like educational media), it feels more genuine and compelling than other styles of product placement, even if they don't really differ below the surface.
I think Destin and Hank pretty much summed it up - take the responsibility of having a huge audience seriously, or you'll end up irreversibly losing credibility.
I don't mind it when they say in the video that it's sponsored, because then I know I can watch what follows like an ad, instead of like a review. I know that RUclipsrs and other influencers have to do this, and if I was one and liked the product, I probably also wouldn't miss the opportunity. To me, being honest about it is what's most important.
Thanks for your comment, and watching the video!
I tend to ignore the noise. There are some channels that I subscribe to that do promotional ads within their videos, and when they do those spots, I merely ignore them. I understand they've got to keep the lights on.
Thanks for sharing your perspective.
If they tell you it is sponsored or an ad then I don't mind. Just look at linus tech tips, they do that all the time to keep their channel running.
Thanks for giving us your take! We appreciate it!
+1 I'm from France, and this topic is almost taboo there. People feel that a youtuber promoting a product is degrading himself/herself. Hence, most of the youtubers either explain that the add comes from their network, or they hide the add itself.
imo Linus Tech tips has the proper way, they do live from adds, they show them clearly and they are smart enough to show adds from companies that are related to their area of interest. Unlike the random google add engine that puts adds about shady companies/lobbies on videos unrelated, ie in france seeing adds from NRA is kinda weird x)
good luck for the channel!
I prefer to know if a video is sponsored. Most of the channels I watch are normally not sponsored. They might share a product once in a while, but they are clear when it’s a sponsored video or if it’s just a product they love.
Thanks for the video! It's already worth a lot if people become more aware of it.
How you deal with that information is everyone's decision, but you should at least know about it. Ideally when the creator states it clearly, but at least they should know that they should be skeptical whenever a product of a specific brand is being promoted.
The moment a youtuber I follow tries to pass an endorsement under the radar without letting the audience know is when they lose all trust from me. I can understand why they would do it if they're living on their own or have other stuff going on but in an age of patreon subscriptions, merch sales, paypal donations and more, to accept and pass these endorsements secretly just shows me where their priorities are at that moment. Which is why I'd unfollow them since there's already enough advertisements in the real world and in every other medium and I'd rather not deal with it here as well.
So how do you feel about sponsorships where the RUclipsr is trying his or her best to integrate the ad into the video?
+Above The Noise
It depends on the content in question, if it was a beauty product and the content is a vlog/review of the product in question I can see the video being enhanced by the sponsorship since it gives the creator more money to make more videos and adds new subject matter for that type of video. However, the difference between a creator trying to integrate a product to improve their video vs just trying to subtly pass of an ad to make some extra cash isn't easy to find. What I look for above all is honesty, I've yet to see how being upfront about an endorsement makes a video worse.
I hate it when people try to integrate the product into the video, I always feel like I've been cheated! It works a lot better when they talk about the product at the very end, because then I can just skip it. Giving the viewer a choice in what they see is important, and builds more trust in that brand.
It's been interesting to see how PBS and PBSDS shows have handled sponsors, are there any official rules governing this?
What's interesting is that when speaking to younger fans at VidCon, almost all of them thought that it was cool when RUclipsrs integrated products into their videos as seamlessly as possible. In the U.S., most of the rules regarding sponsorships come from the FTC. Bottom line is, if there is some sort of paid endorsement, that disclosure has to be made to the viewer. The FTC offers guidelines about how these disclosures should be made.
I pretty much assume at all time that if an influencer is talking about a product, they are getting paid. However, there are a few voices that I trust more than others.
How do you decide what voices you trust?
Above The Noise that is a great question. One that I haven't gave a serious thought to until now. I think I trust people who are more critical of things they talk about, so they don't always have favorable opinions on products from even their favorite brands. I trust them even more if they have an opinion that's contrary to the popular view.
As long as they disclose the sponser I'm all for it. I realize that ad revenue isn't super reliable and I trust that most RUclipsrs I watch care about what they're selling.
For what its worth I've never been steered wrong by their recommendations because their taste tend to line up with mine. I've discovered some of my favorite games,anime,and music thanks to the likes of Markipler, ProZd, Jacksepticeye, and Game Grumps.
You can hoot and holler about shills and sellouts all you want, but that term overused and , more often than not, misused. To me, one is only a shill or a sellout if they change who they are or the style of their material to fit the brand, or sell something they clearly don't believe in. People get too eger to jump on the "sellout" bandwagon the second they get a sponser of any kind.
Thankfully a lot of the content creators I watch tend to be very transparent with their sponsorships, and I definitely think it would be a violation of my trust in them as a consumer of their content if they weren't. I do, however, place a lot less trust in promotions when the creator doesn't have anything bad to say about a product or when they're too obvious. I generally fast forward 'til they're done in those situations.
StayUpChasingStars thanks for sharing your take
I don't mind sponsored videos because I want my favorite youtubers to make a decent living so they can keep making great content. That being said, it is an absolute MUST for me that the youtuber disclose the sponsorship in the video (not just in the description somewhere). All my favorite youtubers do this. In fact, failure to clearly disclose means the youtuber won't make it on my favorites list.
Hank!
For Hank you did only vlogbrothers, when really you could do vlogbrothers, crash course, animal wonders, sci show etc etc.
A Unicorn true. Would have been a lot to fit into one lower third - but yeah, hard to limit him to just one channel.
@@AboveTheNoise can you do it in the future ?
I've always hated that videos are tied so heavily to money now. When the ADpocalypse hit even small to medium sized channels were bashing RUclips for taking their money away. What ever happened to people making videos just for the fun of it or to teach someone something that they enjoyed doing? It has gotten to the point that I wouldn't believe any "influencer" even if they told me that the video wasn't sponsored. I don't watch any videos labeled as ads.
I am not so anti money though, that if RUclips puts an ad at the front of someones video, the person who made the video should get a portion of that. I don't think RUclips should be the only one to profit off the platform.
I think you've made many good points. However, at the end of the day, there are far too many people with vastly different views/tastes to really be able to cater to all of a channel's viewers. If someone went out and bought that game because the content creator said they liked it but that person then hated it, that is not the fault of the youtuber. The consumer should've gone into the store with even more research on said game if what the youtuber presented in their review (which should always include a synopsis/summary and some gameplay/usage) was not enough to make an informed decision. So even if they are getting paid off for endorsing a product they may not like, it isn't the RUclipsr's fault that their fans blindly followed them and did not make an informed decision for themselves.
Another point I wish to make involves content creators that try to sneak ads in without telling you until it's too late. I know I'm calling out a channel (it is a good channel I still watch them but I do not like the new direction of ads) but The Infographics Show actually changed their advertising style so that by the end of the video, you couldn't tell where the video stopped and the ad began until it was too late. I think my biggest issue with this is that I thought I was goint to receive more closing info about the topic of the video, instead I got an advertisement for a website creator or something which caused a lack of completion in the video itself. Very annoying. I would really prefer it if they (content creators) would just say it out loud that the video is being sponsored and give a brief explanation as opposed to sneaking it up on you like that. Another one I find annoying is when they stop in the very middle of the video to talk about their sponsor that has nothing to do with the subject of the video (here's looking at some science videos interjected by blue apron or something else completely unrelated) as well as those advertisements that feel as long as an entire commercial block and in a short video, that could be about half of the entire video going to advertisements and not what I came for. Quite unpleasant.
Some things I would like to see in terms of advertising on youtube:
Make the ads match the content. (more seamless transitions, less of a feeling of having something sold to the consumers)
Announce that you've been sponsored. (it's simply a better practice to be honest about it. If the videos call for some immersion of some kind, see above)
Only have your in-content advertisement mentioned before or after the video content. (None of that in-the-middle bullshit)
Keep them short (half a minute to one minute should be long enough for an advertisement unless it's relevent to the content. If ads are over that, I skip or end it early. I didn't come to your videos to listen to you talk about anything other than what you created for the video and I'm sure many others feel the same way.)
This problem really applies to any influencers on the internet, and can't just easily be solved because the internet is impossible to regulate. It also doesn't really matter for the companies if the sponsored video or post already has made enough publicity to the point in which adding that it was sponsored afterwards doesn't do much effect.
I think the "easiest" fix to this problem would be to have RUclips, Twitter and other social media platforms automatically detect when the video or the post might be sponsored. This way, influencers are more likely to care about trust from the audiences, and companies won't be able to sneak ads in videos as easily. Of course, this is pretty damn hard to do considering how much they are struggling right now to detect ad-friendly videos, but this will address some of the issues. We will also need to start enforcing some of the rules, but trying to force influencers and companies to do so won't result in much of a solution at all.
Great point. Do you think tech companies will ever get a working version of sponsorship detection software up and running?
Above The Noise I think they will eventually, but the situation right now doesn't make it too serious for Google, Twitter, etc. as well as the people watching. But eventually I think this kind of sponsorships will get out of hand in which Google, Twitter, etc. would start caring.
I'm so grateful for this channel! So informative and unbiased.
Well, thanks for watching and letting us know that you appreciate what we do! It means a lot and keeps us going.
Some devils advocate: Ads on TV don't have the big name actors state that they were paid or even use the product usually, since endorsement usually implies payment with celebrities and at the end of the day influencers are just smaller celebrities. The main difference between influencers and celebrities is that many RUclipsrs aren't professional actors, so they aren't trained to be good at lying, usually. The use of most influencers are like how the "not real actors" type of ads try to gain some more legitimacy, but even in those ads they people are compensated in some way to make them view the product more positively. So disclosure is still necessary because being payed or freely given a product causes a that influencer to put more value in that product than it may be worth, inherently changing their perspective from a normal consumer.
Also it's like how reviews are a technically a type of ad, especially when the product is freely given, but since it critically raises a products faults and achievements they are not considered ads usually.
Besides that I'm mainly concerned with whether the ad, by an influencer or otherwise, is entertaining. I even subscribe to a few brandname channels because they make entertaining ads. A lot of ads are just not worth my time and not present anything interesting. Ads are just like any content on YT at the end of the day, just short form videos, if the video isn't entertaining then it's not going to get watched or shared.
There's that new security-guarded mural in LA that only allows verified influencers to take pics in front of it, which itself is an ad for an upcoming web series!
Yeah. Saw an article about that! All promotion is good promotion, I guess!
I don't trust anyone or anything, not even myself!
Hmmm . . . Do I trust that you don't trust anyone or anything . . . ?
So, worse than hidden advertising is a common phenomenon that was, and probably still is, in the gaming community, loot boxes and gambling sites. It was found that many CSGO RUclipsrs actually owned or were paid by the skin trading sites they'd pitch to their fans, meaning the wins and chances of winning were always in their favor. That's clearly wrong, and possibly illegal.
Folks like Destin who straight up say that they're being paid, but still give an honest opinion are fine. They, and we, should keep in mind that their opinion is biased by that payment though.
Yeah the CSGO gambling scandal is, to date, the first and only time the FTC has directly gone after RUclipsrs for deceptive advertising!
They should disclose, but if you run out and buy something because you see some one you've never met said is great that's a personal problem.
Hey Myles, coming at ya with a slightly different angle. Can you trust an influencer's word on product/brand that they only used for a short period of time? 🤔
Scratchy The Eagle is sponsored by Chex Mix
It's summer, and after I've responded to a bunch of RUclips comments, I love relaxing with an ice-cold Country Time Lemonade. Nothing says summer like Country Time.
Chex Mix number one food snack in the land. It's the cereal taste that you eat with your hand. Chex Mix at your local grocer buy your box. Your family will all say Chex Mix rocks!
I once watched a video that I'm pretty sure was an ad for Amino but I can't remember if it was stated. The video didn't completely blend in with her other video but it kind of did at the same time and also kind of made you want to download Amino.
I think that if the company is suporting some channel I like that's enough for giving it at least a chance.
Thanks for you insight!
Wait, isn't not disclosing illegal? This was a huge controversy about a year ago or so.
Yes. You must disclose, but there's very little enforcement of the rules, and how you disclose is in a bit of a gray area.
No I think the FCC pretty specific, there must be a disclosure right at the start of the video, and it must not be possible to watch without first knowing it's sponsored.
Fortunately Shadow of Mordor was decent, but Warner Bros. practices surrounding that game were ABHORRENT!! Reviewers with review copies were not allowed to criticize the game in any way, and were forced into a format.
Yeah. Definitely one of the more egregious examples of influencer marketing.
Fascinating video as always
Chelsea Shurmantine thanks so much for watching! Let us know if there are topics you’d like us to look into for future episodes
I trust my favourite creators only , like you know guys actually I have signed up for curiosity stream due to PBS it's okay to be smart , hope I become one soon
I'm ok with sponsors and stuff like that but I an extremely tired of the ones that always sponsorir people all the time (audible and stuff like that)
Seeing Markimoo doing ads for Axe is HILARIOUS. He's remarkably bad at it and Axe is a shit product, so in this case my estimation of his taste levels sank dramatically. I don't Care that he's doing it, just wish it wasn't so painful to watch and was a better product. Make that bank influences, the adpocoloypse isn't making it easy for people.
Sway from MTV, favorite social media
i had to watch this for school
This is what death feels like
I have adblock for a reason.
Can't block a sponsorship that is baked into the video, though!
I can skip them, it's easy. Or in some extreme cases unsubscribe.
Funny you should mention it. BoyInABand put it to the next level promoting his beard in the first video and then removing it with a sponsorship for some shaving cream or something like that. Fuck... that was too much!
We'll have to check out that video!
I'd say it couldn't get more shameless in regards to sponsorships.
Joven is the GOAT
I personally don’t care much but imma skip the ads part of the video every time!!
And come on man we’re smart enough to not fall for BS products 👍
if they dont tell me they are being paid by a company for a episode then they are dropped
Not If their flashing dollar dollah bills ya’ll.
FRICK I WASNT IN THE VIDEOS
Come to VidCon 2019!
that's why i only watch informative youtubers.
Hold up, Destin Sandlin has a pretty fucking awesome channel, but he does plenty of those sponsored ads. There’s a popular audiobook service that advertises through him directly talking about their service in his videos (I’m sure you can guess which one), as well as a mattress company, a fresh food delivery company, a website creator company, and I think there have been a couple of online learning platforms that he’s plugged. He’s also done a whole video on 23 and Me, plugging not just the concept of recreational gene mapping but that specific gene mapping service.
There’s no way he doesn’t understand his role as an influencer. If he’s not even interested in looking at it, then I dare say he’s not as interested in getting Smarter Everyday as he claims to be.
oh yea baby
There are too many copycat videos and too videos using bots.
Check out Tagger Media to get the best influencers for your products! It's like an agency for influencers ;)
You can block in video sponsors by installing the sponsorblock addon. Don't thank me ;)
The first one said it all ! Y’all not looking for truth ! Y’all looking for entertainment!
First
Welcome! Glad you watched the video. What'd you think?
The sad thing is many of the top earners shouldn't be getting that money. We should be putting it into things like this channel and SciShow, but instead a kid effectively gets paid to play with toys and others get paid to play games and yell into a camera. All of this silly shit is why pure capitalism is depressing.
Investigate wetmovie1 , he goes on and begs for money and blocks people who call him on it😂