Advertisment
A sponsored advertisement on YouTube featured a personality standing beside a horse. The man was portrayed as if he was filming content and while speaking to camera, he is told that he is supposed to be sitting on the horse. The video then portrays the man attempting to climb onto the horse. After several failed attempts, the man says:
“Is this really necessary? Let’s just show our horse themed games. This is Tony Bet and we’re here to play.”
Complaint
The complainant objected to the placement of the advertisement during video games reviews on YouTube as they believed that the content was primarily viewed by children.
Response
The advertisers said that they used Google’s advertising campaign management platform that allowed them to plan, launch, and monitor the effectiveness of advertisements on various channels such as display, video, mobile, and TV advertising. They said it was part of the Google Marketing Platform and provided opportunities for automated purchase of display advertising.
Through their account, they said that they can view all the pre-set settings and determine whether or not the advertisements comply with the regulator’s rules.
The advertisers provided a screenshot from the management platform setting out the demographic setting for the campaign, showing that it had targeting males with an age range of between 25 – 44. They said that through their account, they tracked the settings that were set for the campaign which confirmed that the age limit was set to 25+.
Conclusion
Complaint Not Upheld.
The Complaints Council considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response.
The Council noted that the complaint had been submitted on the grounds that the advertisement had been served to them while watching content that they considered was attractive to under 18’s. In this case, the Council noted the targeting settings provided by the advertisers which showed that the advertisements were not served to those under 25. In the circumstances, the Council did not consider that the placement of the advertisement was directed at those under 18 and was not in breach of the Code on the grounds raised.
Action Required:
No further action required
