Video bloggers told to own up to sponsorship

As brands have caught on to the fact that many vloggers have huge followings, they've been paying the vloggers to push their products - but without making the commercial relationship clear.

In one example, five YouTube vloggers were paid to encourage viewers to take part in a 'Lick Race' challenge, in which people competed to lick cream off an Oreo cookie as quickly as possible.

"It's important that we understand when we're being marketed to so that we can make informed decisions about what we're being told," says the ASA.

"Plus if it's appearing in a format that we'd normally expect to be non-promotional, we should be told up front about whether it's an ad so that we can decide whether we want to continue viewing. In simple terms, it's not fair to falsely promote a product."

It's perfectly legal for vloggers to accept money in return for promoting a product - indeed, it's the way many make most of their money. "But when that commercial relationship is in place then the onus is on the advertiser, and by extension the vlogger, to be upfront about it and clearly disclose the fact that they're advertising," says the ASA.

Vloggers themselves are concerned about the ruling. "What if you are simply given a product to review and can say whatever you want about it? What if you are paid to talk about a certain product or service or mention it, but the exact content you're creating is up to you?" asks blogging platform Britmums.

But, it advises, "The important term is 'editorial control'. If they have it, if they have to 'approve' your video or comments, then they have editorial control."

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Advertising industry group the ISBA has welcomed the ruling.

"At the end of the day consumers deserve respect. There are of course a lot of vloggers that adhere to the rules and are transparent about their content, but not everyone is equally savvy," says director of public affairs Ian Twinn.

"In the UK the rules are clear: in a tweet include #ad, and for Facebook or YouTube just say it's an advert. It might even help vloggers get more work!"

Some vloggers - many of whom are still in their teens - are making millions from their videos. One of the best-known is Zoella, who has recently written a book about her experiences. The 24-year-old, who is based in Brighton, chats about makeup, clothes and her fellow-vlogger boyfriend Alfie Deyes to her 6.5 million subscribers.

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