Influencers have become a powerful driver of consumer purchasing decisions, particularly in the fashion, beauty and lifestyle sectors. Whether they are sharing a product review, promoting a discount code, posting a “get ready with me” video, or comparing a product with a higher-end alternative, influencer content can have a real impact on what consumers buy.
That influence is exactly why advertising transparency matters. Consumers should be able to tell when they are seeing a genuine personal recommendation and when they are being advertised to. With influencer-led trends continuing to shape consumer behaviour, including through “dupe” content, affiliate links, gifting and brand collaborations, now is a good time for brands and creators to refresh themselves on the ASA/CAP rules, CMA guidance and wider consumer law requirements around influencer marketing.
Section 2 of the CAP Code provides that marketing communications must be “obviously identifiable” as such, and Rule 2.3 states that marketing communications must not falsely claim or imply that the marketer is acting as a consumer, or obscure their commercial intent where that is not apparent from the context. Rule 2.3 also reflects a prohibited practice under Schedule 20 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.
The ASA has also made clear, through its updated influencer marketing guidance developed with the CMA, that when a brand gives an influencer a payment or any other incentive, or where the influencer is personally or commercially connected to the brand, any content featuring or referring to that brand must make clear that it is advertising. The ASA’s guidance also states that consumers must always be aware when they are being advertised to, and that both brands and influencers have responsibility for making that clear upfront.
This is particularly important because influencer advertising often looks and feels like ordinary lifestyle content. A paid or incentivised post may sit between personal updates, outfit posts, beauty tutorials, travel content or product recommendations. The more naturally the advertising blends into an influencer’s usual day to day content, the greater the need for clear disclosure.
In practice, content should be labelled as advertising where an influencer has been incentivised in any way to promote a product, service or brand. This extends to “free” gifts, discounts, commission, affiliate links, discount codes, sponsorships, business partnerships, product placement, competitions, prize draws, giveaways, own-brand promotions or other incentives. For brands, the important practical point here is that informal arrangements can still create disclosure obligations. A campaign does not need to involve a detailed influencer agreement, a fee or formal creative control to raise advertising transparency issues. Government guidance states that even if a business does not control the content or ask creators for anything in return, all related content must be labelled as ads. It also says that where a business knows, or becomes aware, that creators have not labelled posts about its brand correctly, it should take action and not ignore it. This means that even “no obligation to post” gifting can be risky if the influencer does then go on to post about the brand.
So what does good disclosure look like? The disclosure should be clear, upfront, prominent and easy to understand, and influencers can use labels such as “Ad”,“Advert”,“AD”,“Advertising” and “Advertisement” to clearly identify content as an advert. Platform tools such as “paid partnership” or “branded content” may also assist, but brands and influencers should consider whether the tool is sufficiently clear and easy to see; if not, including #Ad in a clear, upfront position is the way to go.
By contrast, brands and influencers should be cautious about relying on ambiguous labels, such as“#gift”,“#gifted”,“#aff”,“#affiliate”,“#collab”,“#PRTrip”,“#spon”,“#sponsored”,“In association with”,“PR Haul”,“PR Stay”,“thank you” or simply naming or tagging the brand as it may be determined to not clearly enough identify the content as advertising.
Placement is just as important as wording. The disclosure should be obvious from the first interaction with the content. It should not be hidden at the end of a caption, buried among a string of hashtags, placed only in an influencer’s bio, or require the consumer to click “more”, scroll, resize the screen or study the post to work out that it is advertising. For videos, podcasts, reels or stories, the disclosure should be given at the beginning of the advertising content. For carousels or sequences, each item containing promotional messaging should be labelled. These controls are particularly important where influencer content involves product comparisons, “dupe” claims or recommendations that could be perceived as independent consumer opinion. In those circumstances, there may be an additional risk that consumers do not understand the commercial relationship behind the recommendation, or that the content blurs the line between genuine review and paid promotion.
Any content must also reflect the influencers genuine experience and should not give the impression that the influencer bought or used a product where that is not the case, or make claims that the influencer does not know to be true, such as saying something tastes good, washes well or is eco-friendly without proper basis, or exaggerating the results of a beauty product using video or photo filters.
Hidden ads and misleading endorsements are not just an ASA compliance issue. These practices may breach consumer protection law and under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, the CMA can investigate suspected breaches of consumer law, impose penalties, accept undertakings and require substantial remedies.
The key takeaway for brands is that influencer marketing can be highly effective, but it needs to be transparent. Clear labelling, good briefing and active monitoring should be built into the campaign from the outset. If a brand is benefiting from influencer advocacy, it should also take responsibility for ensuring that the advertising is recognisable as advertising, that claims are accurate, and that influencers understand what is expected before content goes live.
For influencers, the message is equally important: if there is any commercial relationship behind the content, whether that is payment, gifting, affiliate links, discount codes, brand ambassador work, own-brand promotion or any other incentive, followers should be told clearly and upfront.
Transparency should not be seen as undermining authenticity. In fact, clear disclosure helps maintain trust with followers and reduces the risk of complaints, takedown requests or regulatory scrutiny. As influencer marketing continues to evolve, both brands and influencers should treat ASA/CAP and CMA compliance as part of the campaign strategy, not as a box to tick after publication. Compliance should not stop at asking the influencer to include “#Ad” on content. Brands should consider the whole content journey: what the influencer is being asked to say, what claims are being made, how the product is being presented, whether the disclosure is sufficiently prominent, and whether the overall impression is likely to mislead consumers.
