You would think it is 2014 again reading the headline, but it is true. Warner Brothers paid two YouTube personalities to make videos about their Xbox One games. They paid as much as $30,000 for these videos. Unfortunately, the videos never disclosed that there was compensation involved, which goes against FTC regulations.
The game being promoted in this case was, Middle earth: Shadow of Mordor.” The FTC is not issuing a financial penalty in this case, which is a little surprising given that there is really no excuse for a major company like this to not be aware of the regulations for this type of marketing content. Instead, the FTC is essentially giving them a slap on the wrist and telling them what they must do going forward to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
An FTC statement said, “The order specifies the minimum steps that Warner Bros., or any entity it hires to conduct an influencer campaign, must take to ensure that future campaigns comply with the terms of the order. These steps include educating influencers regarding sponsorship disclosures, monitoring sponsored influencer videos for compliance, and, under certain circumstances, terminating or withholding payment from influencers or ad agencies for non-compliance.”
Having full disclosure given by social influencers whenever paying them to do any type of marketing is absolutely essential. If this is not done properly it is not only deceptive to viewer, but will certainly attract the attention of the FTC.
