Restrain or welcome change?
Two digital creators argue if the proposed guidelines* are a boon or bane
“I’ve almost never declared my paid partnerships because they are not forced!”
“When brands became clients to influencers, creators lost some credibility”
“I’M HAVING TO BEAR THE BRUNT OF A SECTION OF CREATORS THAT HAVE ASSUMED THE ROLE OF ADVERTISING BILLBOARDS” —RIAAN JACOB GEORGE
P “THERE’S NO SHAME IN MAKING MONEY— IT’S ONLY CRINGE WHEN IT ISN’T CLEARLY DECLARED!” —VASUDHA RAI
*On Feb 21, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) made it mandatory for digital creators to disclose any “paid posts” on their social media handles as per the prescribed standards.
While my primary source of income as a content creator is brand partnerships and endorsements, I ensure I make the content honest and experience-based. I’ve almost never declared my paid partnerships because my endorsements are not forced. I’ll talk about your product and accept money to do so only if I truly resonate with the brand or feel like I can add a spin on the brand that can benefit the consumer. That said, we are currently looking at upstart creators blindly endorsing cars when they don’t drive, whiskey when they don’t drink or fast food they don’t eat. I’m having to bear the brunt of a section of creators that have assumed the role of advertising billboards as opposed to opinion leader, content curator or taste maker.
With the new rules drafted by the ASCI, Indian influencers, meaning creators, bloggers and influencers, are required to declare they are being paid to talk about or endorse a brand. While on paper this is a great way to separate wheat from chaff, ensure integrity and transparency, I have mixed feelings. Given that I come from a traditional journalistic background and continue to practise it, I am committed to making my content credible and authentic. If and when the ASCI rules do come in, I will gladly play by them. I’m not sure about how I feel about my feed sporting the ‘ad’ banner or the ‘paid collab’ banner, given that social media is all about personal style and experiences.
Riaan George is a luxury and travel content creator based in Mumbai and Colombo. He also teaches French and is learning Italian.
The ASCI has issued a draft code for paid content on social media. It is proposed that all sponsored posts must be revealed as advertisements upfront, instead of the current norm of
#AD towards the bottom. I welcome this. If we can switch television channels during a commercial break and thumb through ads in a magazine, we should be able to identify sponsored posts and swipe past them.
The proposal also doesn’t allow the usage of filters in ads, as the results could be misleading. If you got influenced into buying a cream because of someone’s perfect *cough* (filtered) skin, you’ve already paid the price for poor advertising practices. Print has been bashed for decades for setting unreal standards of beauty. It’s only natural it extend to social media. Influencers became popular because their content wasn’t branded. But when brands became their clients, they lost some credibility. Just like magazines were paid for sponsored covers or shoots (that didn’t look like ads), content creators are also expected to post without the ‘paid partnership’ tag. These guidelines aren’t just empowering the audience but also the influencer. Content creators will finally have the right to refuse poor advertising practices and reclaim their power. There’s no shame in making money - it’s only cringe when it isn’t clearly declared.
Vasudha Rai is a Delhi-based beauty influencer, who has earlier worked as the beauty director at leading Indian magazines like Harper’s Bazaar and Cosmopolitan.