YOUTUBE and boxing star KSI has had one of his Instagram posts banned for failing to declare that it was an ad.
KSI, real name Olajide “JJ” Olatunji, promoted trainers and clothing from JD Sports to his 12.7million followers.
The video showed close-up shots of footwear as well as a shot of KSI drawing attention to his shoes.
Others in the ad – which was published back in November – were wearing branded sportswear.
It ended with a shot of the JD Sports logo under text stating: “King of the Game.”
KSI, 29, told the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that he believed the references to JD Sports made it clear to consumers that the video was an excerpt from a TV ad in which he had featured.
Influencers are supposed to put “ad” somewhere in posts they’ve been paid to put up on Instagram and other social media.
When he caught wind of the breach, the YouTuber added #ad to the caption to try to “mitigate any risk of consumers being misled”.
But after attracting hundreds of thousands of likes, watch dog bosses decided it was too little too late.
“We welcomed Mr Olatunji’s assurances that the post had been amended to include ‘#ad,” the ASA siad.
“However, at the time the ad was originally seen, the commercial intent behind the post was not made clear upfront and the ad was not obviously identifiable as such.
“We therefore concluded that it breached the Code.”
The ASA ruled that the ad must not appear again, adding: “We told JD Sports and KSI to ensure that in future their ads were obviously identifiable as marketing communications and made their commercial intent clear upfront, for example, by including a clear and prominent identifier such as ‘#ad’.”
A rep for JD Sports said: “We note the ASA’s decision and acknowledge our responsibility around content paid for by JD and those of influencer partners under the advertising code.”
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