Zoella warned by UK advertising watchdog after she’s paid to wear ASOS dress and asks her 1 million followers to buy it
YOUTUBE star and influencer Zoe Sugg has been warned by the UK advertising watchdog after an Instagram post was found to have breached advertising standards guidelines.
The beauty and lifestyle vlogger, also known as Zoella, featured a story on her Instagram account last year in which she wore a floral dress by clothing brand Asos.
Social media influencers are required to indicate clearly that they are being paid by a company to market their products - often by including the hashtag #ad in posts.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said that Zoe did not make clear that the July 2019 post, which lasted for five seconds on her Instagram story, was for marketing purposes.
Her story read: "Lots of you loving the dress I'm wearing in my newest photos!...it's from @missselfridge Swipe up to shop... (Also popped it on my @liketoknowit profile if you'd rather shop straight from the app)."
She also included the word "*affiliate" at the bottom of the image, but this was obscured by the direct message, and swiping up on the story took users to a product page on the Asos website.
Asos said that it did not have any direct input or advance knowledge of the Instagram story in question, but acknowledged the marketing affiliation was not obvious enough.
The ASA ordered that such an ad must not appear again in the form complained about and that future posts by Zoe should make her affiliate links obvious and upfront by including more prominent tags.
Zoella started uploading videos in 2006 and has her own waxwork in Madame Tussauds, books, a lifestyle range and that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Her site reportedly earns £50,000 a month and she was named the most powerful beauty vlogger by Forbes Magazine.
Each video lasts between 10 to 20 minutes and sees the pretty brunette talk to the camera about everything from lipstick to anxiety, pets and beyond.
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