Advertising is barely noticeable despite labeling

The labeling requirement is intended to clearly differentiate between advertising and editorial content. Since in practice the license plates are very small, inconspicuous and placed in positions that do not catch the eye, it is still difficult to perceive advertising as such, reports our cooperation partner SaferInternet . In addition, advertising content is very often not marked at all or only insufficiently. This makes it all the more important to practice recognizing advertising as such with children at an early age.

Section 26 of the Media Act, advertising must be marked with the terms “advertisement”, “paid placement” or “advertising” In practice, however, there is a certain amount of leeway with regard to the naming, design and positioning of advertising information, which means that advertising content is not perceived as such despite labeling.

Know signal words: Advertising doesn't always mean the same thing

There are numerous terms on the Internet that are used to describe advertising. Look for signal words like “ad,” “sponsored,” “ad,” or “paid inclusion.” Advertising is usually announced in auditory media such as radio, podcasts or audio books. Here too, listen carefully and pay attention to certain names.

Examples
of advertising, advertisement, advertisement by [company], sponsored, ad, with the support of, paid inclusion, advertising placement, permanent advertising, permanent commercial, advertisement, sponsored, sponsored by, sponsored content, buy, reduced, advertorial, powered by, presented by, Sponsored post, Promo, Supported by/by, Code, Sale, -20% with Code x, Cooperation, Advertorial, Discount code, Thanks for working with [company]

Some terms such as B. Promo are not legally sufficient as labels, but they are still frequently used by influencers. Furthermore, each country has its own laws regarding labeling of advertising. A tag with #ad would probably not be enough in German-speaking countries.

License plate or chameleon? Advertising information is well disguised

Advertising is difficult to recognize, especially in videos. YouTubers, TikTokers or Instagrammers who, for example, For example, people who upload videos about their everyday life, cooking videos or entertainment videos also mention certain products or brands. Very often products are not mentioned by name at all, but are instead placed on a table or in the background, for example. A typical example is jewelry or clothing that is worn without being explicitly named. This is product placement . This form of advertising is particularly difficult to identify because these notices are usually small and inconspicuous in color and are only displayed for a very short time and are as hidden as possible. Very often, advertising information is covered by the navigation bar or fixed elements of the platform. Other signal words are also used for product placement.

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To see this label (ASSISTED BY PRODUCT PLACEMENT) you need a magnifying glass / screenshot YouTube: SaferInternet
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The “ADVERT” notice is difficult to see due to the visually similar video content and buttons. / Screenshot Instagram: SaferInternet
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YouTubers can also display advertising with an automatic notification from the platform / Screenshot YouTube: SaferInternet

Signal words for product placements
Product placement, supported by product placement, Contains paid advertising, Paid advertising, advertising, continuous advertising, advertising video, Supported by…

Pay attention to tags, links and hashtags

If there is a link or a company marked with @ , it is often advertising. Question the purpose of markings and links. In some cases, the influencers probably just want to draw attention to themselves, provide information or hope for benefits. However, practice shows that the labeling requirement for advertising content is often neglected and corresponding information is missing. A marking without additional marking, for example “advertisement”, is usually not sufficient. Hiding the advertising notice under the hashtags (e.g. #advertising or #ad) is also not enough - but many influencers still do it that way.

Information in information boxes

Links in info boxes (in YouTube videos) or links on blogs can also indicate that the authors are paid for naming the company. These are often so-called affiliate links. This means that companies provide products to certain people to promote them and usually receive commission for each product they sell. Affiliates must be identified as such. As an identifier, asterisks are sometimes placed after the link or a note (e.g. advertisement) is given in brackets. There is often a note at the bottom of the page. Remember: In practice, these instructions are usually completely missing.

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Links usually indicate advertising. Note: Not all advertising links were marked orange in the screenshots. / Screenshots: SaferInternet

Recognizing advertising takes practice

Talk to children and young people about advertising. As early as kindergarten age, discuss what advertising is and that it aims to persuade people to buy certain products. You can casually point it out again and again in the supermarket, while surfing the Internet, on YouTube or in gaming apps.

Collect examples of advertising and look for advertising information together with children and young people. The quizzes on social networks and online advertising .

Source: SaferInternet

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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )