When you’re watching a video, you might notice this symbol pop up 
For example, if a video has a toy in it, the video's creator might get money to show the toy to you. That toy is there because the company who made the toy wants you to buy it.
What’s a paid product placement? (For Kids)
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Understand paid promotions
There are a few different kinds of paid promotions you and your kids might see while watching videos:
- Paid product placements: Videos created for a company or business in exchange for money, free products, or free services. Also, videos where that company or business’s brand, message, or product is included directly in the content. The company has given the creator money or free products to make the video.
- Endorsements: Videos created for an advertiser or marketer that contain a message that reflects the opinions, beliefs, or experiences of the creator or endorsing party.
- Sponsorships: Videos that have been financed in whole or in part by a company, without including the brand, message, or product directly into the content. Instead, the brand, message, or sponsored product may be promoted during a brief video intermission. For example, a creator might film a video where they paint a picture but take a short break to promote their video sponsor’s new product.
FAQs
How can I teach my kids about paid promotion?
It's important that kids understand that creators may get goods or services in exchange for promotion in their videos. Here are some tips for teaching your kid about paid promotion:
- Talk to your kids about paid promotion in videos and teach them to identify the paid promotion indicator (
). Watch this short video and ask your kid to tell you how to identify if a video includes paid promotion.
- Discuss your kid’s favorite creators and explain how some of these creators support their channel through paid product placement. For many creators, making YouTube videos is their full-time job.
- Teach your kid to look for phrases like “sponsored by,†“partnered with,†or “#ad."