Disguised Advertising

The popularity of Youtube has significantly grown in the last 5 years.  People across the globe are able to find guidance, comedy, and tutorials all through videos. The Youtube community makes you feel like there are 500 close friends giving you advice or telling you a joke, this is one of the biggest appeals. In beauty videos specifically, companies will send Youtubers their products in exchange for a shoutout in a video. The Youtuber will recommend the product as one of their "favorites" or "everyday products" then leave a coupon code down below. For many years I would buy a product just because a Youtuber said that it was great. This form of advertising is very sneaky and it took me many years to realize the hidden advertisements.

This video is titled "What I Ate Today" and this specific Youtuber is known to have a very toned body.  People are constantly trying to change  their bodies and get into shape, so by showing us what she eats many hope that if they eat the same they will look like her. After taking you on a short step by step guide on what she eats everyday, she proceeds to talk about this "food box" that she is obsessed with. This advertisement is conveniently placed after every viewers mouth waters from the clips shown previously. Polina describes each of the snacks in the box and says how much she loves everything. By the end of the video, I'm really hungry and want to click the link below to buy the box.

This form of advertisement is effective because it is personal and focuses on health. She keeps eye contact with camera as if she's recommending the box to a close friend. It doesn't seem like an advertisement because she's reviewing it (although the reviews will never be negative).