EvanTube's YouTube Channels to Include Audio Disclosures for Sponsored Ads, Says CARU

EvanTube's YouTube channels that provide content to families and children will now include an audio disclosure before new sponsored videos to let viewers, especially children, understand they're about to see advertising, said the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU), the ad industry's investigative unit administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus, in a Monday news release. EvanTube channels, including EvanTubeHD, EvanTubeRAW and EvanTubeGaming, feature videos of a young boy named Evan and his family involved in art projects, field trips, games and other activities. EvanTube generates 85 percent of revenue from pre-roll ads, which run before the family-produced content, said CARU, while 15 percent comes from sponsored product deals made directly with children's marketers. The investigative unit said it determined that sponsored content is both national advertising defined by the Self-Regulatory Program for Children’s Advertising guidelines and native advertising, which means ads look like the editorial content of the channels. In examining 132 sponsored videos on EvanTube, the investigative unit said 84 provided some text disclosure and only 36 included an audio disclosure. Citing FTC guidelines on native ads (see 1512220031), CARU said it didn't agree with EvanTube's arguments that children understand "brought to you by [brand]" or "sponsored by [brand]" nor did EvanTube provide evidence how children understand or interpret such terms. CARU concluded sponsored videos are ads and should be labeled as such with a "prominent audio disclosure" before the sponsored content begins. EvanTube didn't comment, but CARU said EvanTube said it appreciated the review and agreed with the recommendation.