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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Microsoft paying YouTubers for positive Xbox One coverage ( edited with more info )

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Mr Puggsly on 21 January 2014
Figgycal said:
Mr Puggsly said:
Figgycal said:

? This isn't about reviews.

"You may not say anything negative or disparaging about Machinima, Xbox One or any of its Games in your Campaign Video." Completely fine and to be expected  in advertising.

"You agree to keep confidential at all times all matters relating to this Agreement, including, without limitation, the Promotional Requirements, and the CPM Compensation, listed above." Not fine.

This is in violation of the FTC guidelines that call for full transparancy when an endorsement is made.

 

I rarely see advertisers being open with all that information.

My guess is people with no expertiese on this subject are speculating.

You're right about the bold part. The first no. It's assumed that if you watch a commercial - you're watching paid actors or a celebrity promote a product. If you watch a commercial with "real customers" - they have to have a disclaimer saying those "real customers" were compensated. But even speculating isn't the word I'd use. You can read for yourself examples of what the FTC considers breaching its guidelines - they get very specific.

I dunno, when I watch TV ads I can't tell the difference between a testimonial and paid actor. The line is blurry.

I don't know if Jessica Simpson lost weight with Weight Watchers. I don't know if Proactiv is the reason Adam Levine has sexy skin.

Anyhow, apparently the contract is for people to make campaign videos simply focusing on postive things about the hardware and games. You don't have to mislead people to do that, that's just advertising.

Now if MS was paying people to give their products great review, i would have a huge problem with that.



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mysteryman on 21 January 2014

Quick question for the defenders:

Reviewer A has not been paid or compensated in any way for their review.
Reviewer B has been paid for their review

Which review do you trust more?



superryo on 21 January 2014

All the people complaining about this should complain about every infomercial and commercials out there in the states... especially every one with a celebrity endorsement. It's not like any of them really endorse the product because they 100% believe in it. And in the case where the rules to get your $3 per 1000 impression and you cannot say anything bad about the product... hmmm duh! why would ANY company pay for advertising of their products to be bashed. I don't think you can name ANY video game company who would or for that matter ANY company at all who would be stupid enough to pay for advertisement where someone would say their product sucks.



mysteryman on 21 January 2014
superryo said:
All the people complaining about this should complain about every infomercial and commercials out there in the states... especially every one with a celebrity endorsement. It's not like any of them really endorse the product because they 100% believe in it. And in the case where the rules to get your $3 per 1000 impression and you cannot say anything bad about the product... hmmm duh! why would ANY company pay for advertising of their products to be bashed. I don't think you can name ANY video game company who would or for that matter ANY company at all who would be stupid enough to pay for advertisement where someone would say their product sucks.

Another one missing the key differentiator; disclosure.



GribbleGrunger on 21 January 2014
mysteryman said:
Quick question for the defenders:

Reviewer A has not been paid or compensated in any way for their review.
Reviewer B has been paid for their review

Which review do you trust more?

They've been picking B since the launch of the X1 so I doubt it will change.



 

The PS5 Exists. 


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mysteryman on 21 January 2014
shikamaru317 said:
Mr Puggsly said:
Figgycal said:
Mr Puggsly said:
Figgycal said:

? This isn't about reviews.

"You may not say anything negative or disparaging about Machinima, Xbox One or any of its Games in your Campaign Video." Completely fine and to be expected  in advertising.

"You agree to keep confidential at all times all matters relating to this Agreement, including, without limitation, the Promotional Requirements, and the CPM Compensation, listed above." Not fine.

This is in violation of the FTC guidelines that call for full transparancy when an endorsement is made.

 

I rarely see advertisers being open with all that information.

My guess is people with no expertiese on this subject are speculating.

You're right about the bold part. The first no. It's assumed that if you watch a commercial - you're watching paid actors or a celebrity promote a product. If you watch a commercial with "real customers" - they have to have a disclaimer saying those "real customers" were compensated. But even speculating isn't the word I'd use. You can read for yourself examples of what the FTC considers breaching its guidelines - they get very specific.

I dunno, when I watch TV ads I can't tell the difference between a testimonial and paid actor. The line is blurry.

I don't know if Jessica Simpson lost weight with Weight Watchers. I don't know if Proactiv is the reason Adam Levine has sexy skin.

Anyhow, apparently the contract is for people to make campaign videos simply focusing on postive things about the hardware and games. You don't have to mislead people to do that, that's just advertising.

Now if MS was paying people to give their products great review, i would have a huge problem with that.

^Pretty much this. Nowhere does it say that these Youtubers need to heap praise on Microsoft or review their games and give them high scores. It's just an extra incentive for Youtuber's to play Microsoft's games. The youtuber plays it, has fun playing it, the viewers see the playthrough and if they like what they see in the video they go and buy it. It's advertising 101, no reason to muddy the waters with some frivolous law about disclosure.


Bolded pretty much sums up Microsofts SOP



Figgycal on 21 January 2014
Mr Puggsly said:
Figgycal said:
Mr Puggsly said:
Figgycal said:

? This isn't about reviews.

"You may not say anything negative or disparaging about Machinima, Xbox One or any of its Games in your Campaign Video." Completely fine and to be expected  in advertising.

"You agree to keep confidential at all times all matters relating to this Agreement, including, without limitation, the Promotional Requirements, and the CPM Compensation, listed above." Not fine.

This is in violation of the FTC guidelines that call for full transparancy when an endorsement is made.

 

I rarely see advertisers being open with all that information.

My guess is people with no expertiese on this subject are speculating.

You're right about the bold part. The first no. It's assumed that if you watch a commercial - you're watching paid actors or a celebrity promote a product. If you watch a commercial with "real customers" - they have to have a disclaimer saying those "real customers" were compensated. But even speculating isn't the word I'd use. You can read for yourself examples of what the FTC considers breaching its guidelines - they get very specific.

I dunno, when I watch TV ads I can't tell the difference between a testimonial and paid actor. The line is blurry.

I don't know if Jessica Simpson lost weight with Weight Watchers. I don't know if Proactiv is the reason Adam Levine has sexy skin.

Anyhow, apparently the contract is for people to make campaign videos simply focusing on postive things about the hardware and games. You don't have to mislead people to do that, that's just advertising.

Now if MS was paying people to give their products great review, i would have a huge problem with that.

No really. If you watch a commercial with a celebrity in it is assumed that you are watching a paid advertisement.

"The {revised} Guides also make it clear that celebrities have a duty to disclose their relationships with advertisers when making endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media."

Like I said, the guidelines are pretty clear. You can read them for yourself or check out the many articles reporting on this story.



mysteryman on 21 January 2014
shikamaru317 said:
mysteryman said:
Quick question for the defenders:

Reviewer A has not been paid or compensated in any way for their review.
Reviewer B has been paid for their review

Which review do you trust more?


Reviewer A obviously, but these aren't reviews, they're playthroughs of games. The only intended purpose is to increase the public's awareness of Microsoft's games. The money is just an extra incentive for those who would have enjoyed playing Microsoft's games anyway, Microsoft can't help the fact that some Youtubers will abuse it and pretend to like a game just for the money. It's up to the viewer to decide if the youtuber is being trustworthy, just like it's up to the consumer to decide if a celebrity endorser is being honest about the product they're endorsing.


I forgot that Microsoft is the poor little victim here... all they wanted was to reward those that love their games.



superryo on 21 January 2014

How are they missing the disclosure when one the OP it clearly shows the rules on the how to get your $3? And are we saying the people who are posting the videos absolutely money whores (apologies to money whores) who only post the videos for money and have absolutely no love for their xbox one nor the games they play? Don't all Youtube videos have the chance to make $$ through advertising? And again... when your favorite celebrity endorse a product on TV, do they have any disclosure to tell you they actually don't use the product itself? Are we all stupid enough to believe they do?



Mr Puggsly on 21 January 2014
Porcupine_I said:


This guy doesn't get it.

MS wasn't paying people to say X1 is amazing or the games are incredible. The contract just wanted a video that makes people aware of the products and focuses on the positive.

Also, the contract doesn't effect entire channel as far as I'm aware. Just the video made for advertising purposes.



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