Baby, you can drive my car ... as long as you admit you're getting it for free

Influencers must ’fess up when they promote a product, even if no money has changed hands, the ad watchdog has ruled.

Amanda du Preez complained to the Advertising Regulatory Board about YouTube and Instagram posts by make-up influencer Kandy Kane (real name Marlize Liebenberg), who boasted: “Volvo SA gave me a new car!”

Du Preez’s complaint was succinct: Kane — who has 22,300 Instagram followers and 14,000 YouTube subscribers — had not identified her posts as advertising.

Volvo, whose blue XC40 SUV featured in Kane’s posts, told the watchdog its “partnership agreement” with Kane, 29, from Johannesburg, “is mainly a form of trade exchange which has no financial investment”.

The Swedish car maker said it lent influencers cars in return for them sharing their experience on social media platforms.

It said it had taken steps to ensure Kane’s post was amended, and the title of Kane’s YouTube video has now been changed to: “Volvo CX40: I am an ambassador!”

Kane has added a disclaimer to the YouTube description which says: “This is not a financial paid partnership but a brand agreement whereas I signed a contract to drive this car and in return promote it for Volvo.”

The ad watchdog said Du Preez’s complaint raised a “new and important issue”, and pointed out that its code of advertising practice made clear that influencers were “expected to disclose their relationship, whether it is money or goods that has been exchanged”.

Influencers have become so pervasive that Cosmopolitan magazine hosts annual awards celebrating them, and Kandy Kane was at last week’s 2019 event in Johannesburg.

Writing on Instagram, she said: “Brands can def start learning that investing in influencers who provide great quality content, and use an authentic approach to get the word out to their followers, will not only benefit them greatly but build an amazing and truthful fanbase for their products.”

On her blog, Kane adds: “I only write/film videos about those products that I feel would benefit myself and my fan base. I will never sway my opinion just because something has been sent to me and I do not accept compensation for purely positive reviews.”

The ad watchdog said it was satisfied that Volvo’s move to amend Kane’s post was “unequivocal and addresses the complaint before it”.