{"id":12859,"date":"2024-09-03T10:48:20","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T09:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brainlabsdigital.com\/?p=12859"},"modified":"2025-06-19T14:28:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T14:28:08","slug":"dont-do-a-steven-bartlett-why-brands-should-avoid-paid-ad-loopholes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brainlabsdigital.com\/dont-do-a-steven-bartlett-why-brands-should-avoid-paid-ad-loopholes\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t do a Steven Bartlett: why brands should avoid paid ad loopholes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dragon\u2019s Den star Steven Bartlett had a slap on the wrist last month after featuring in adverts for health brands Huel and Zoe. Seemingly harmless, but the entrepreneur didn\u2019t disclose that he\u2019s an investor in both products. As is becoming more frequent, it wasn\u2019t long before The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) caught on and banned both adverts for misleading customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

While, of course, both the companies and Bartlett himself should know better, it\u2019s clear that influencers and brands are exploring more subtle forms of advertising to appear more authentic. It makes sense, right? With a demand for more and more authenticity, and with users scrolling past content faster than you can say ASA, you need to make ads work.<\/p>\n\n

Dan Brainlabs looking loopholes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

Dan from Brainlabs is looking into the loopholes in social media advertising and uncovering the truth of what\u2019s acceptable, what isn\u2019t and, realistically, the most effective way to make your ad spend work for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

For a while now, creators on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have had to be transparent when collaborating with brands – every promotional ad needs to be labeled as such. But Bartlett found a way to promote companies he has stock in, in a way that may not be obvious to the average consumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

One thing we\u2019re seeing an increase in is self-promotion (and rightly so). With more and more influencers and brands competing for online recognition, building their following is crucial to success. Dan says, \u201cRecently, we\u2019ve seen lots of \u2018PR Stunts\u2019 where brands or creators partner with media pages on a social channel, to promote a story or service to drive traffic to the creator\u2019s original page.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Accounts such as Lad Bible,<\/a> The Numbers Game<\/a> and I\u2019m Just Bait<\/a> report on news and post success stories about brands or individuals. Often the stories appear organic, and we\u2019ve even seen these pages advertise competitions for brands, but there\u2019s generally no proper ad disclosure. And while there\u2019s no way of knowing for sure if they\u2019re being paid, it\u2019s usually pretty obvious. <\/p>\n\n

Why these accounts have fallen under the radar<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

Why these accounts have fallen under the radar<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

These media pages are faceless accounts which pose less of a risk. Their identity is concealed, so they\u2019re more protected from public backlash. There is no \u201cone person\u201d or \u201cbrand\u201d to expose, so to speak. And because they are news based channels, any ad content can be seamlessly integrated into the feed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

To quote an iconic social trend – nobody\u2019s gonna know\u2026 how would they know?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

So is the ASA coming for these kinds of promotions? Not yet. We suspect that the ASA may initially focus on individual public figures because they\u2019re easier to hold accountable. It\u2019s clear that Steven Bartlett messed up, so he faces the repercussions. It can also be considerably harder to spot this kind of faceless content.<\/p>\n\n

Doesn\u2019t mean brands influencers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

But this doesn\u2019t mean brands or influencers should take any chances, or become complacent. While drawing in more customers with seemingly authentic content may seem tempting, the potential consequences are not worth it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

The ASA is clamping down, and the Bartlett, Huel, and Zoe incident should serve as a warning to brands or creators thinking of blurring the lines around ad disclosure. If brands want to promote themselves with these faceless accounts, they need to make it obvious that the content is an ad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Just because the ASA isn\u2019t picking up on media pages now, we suspect they will as the rules tighten. Dan says, \u201cI think these loopholes will become like ads on TikTok or Instagram – stuff you just can’t get around. The ASA will try and come for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

ASA regulations: what brands and creators need to know <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Brands must be familiar with the ASA regulations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

Brands must be familiar with the ASA regulations. They state that \u201cAdvertisement features should be designed and presented in a way that makes them stand out from the surrounding content so that it\u2019s easy for consumers to recognise what is and isn\u2019t advertising.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

The ASA\u2019s Influencers\u2019 guide to making clear that ads are ads<\/em><\/a> covers all the points that brands and influencers need to follow. Some key rules are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n