This is actually a major topic in the LEGO community, of all things. LEGO creators are likely to be biased for monetary reasons. They have affiliate links to purchase LEGO sets in their description. Therefore they are motivated to hype up / show off the best aspects of a product or give a more positive review. If you are in LAN (basically a LEGO affiliate network) you get LEGO products for free, early. They are motivated to stay in LEGO's good graces even if they are allowed to give negative reviews. Hell, some LEGO creators are even "investment gurus" that hype up the value of certain retired sets... while also selling their hoarded sets at the high speculative price.
And then there are channels like Held der Steine who mercilessly tears into Lego products and all other block products when he dislikes them. So the few times he praises a product all around or when he mentions upsides for certain people, you can be sure that it is pretty close to his own opinion.
So interesting, though not surprising - to see these kinds of relationships and driving factors in all sorts of human communities, even LEGO) Thank you for sharing!
don't forget to mention that LEGO actually sued him. it was, as I recall, about his logo. they tried to silence him, but it didn't stop him and he still produces.
To be a little fair to the Lego guys, what you described is true of any one who does reviews for a living. Even gaming companies do similar things where they send early review copies. And the kinda messed up part is that they don't necessarily need to include additional payments or advertisements to incentivizes more positive reviews. Like example, if your partnered with lets say Nintendo and they send you early review copies. That means you get to have a well structured review up before every one else. And being early is important. And if you happen to give them a lot of critical reviews, why would they continue? They could just end the partnership and now you will have your review either uploaded much later than the rest or your forced to upload an first impressions type of video to stay on top. Like it's bonkers.
it's not just about 'don't buy the stuff influencers sell you impulsively'. being bombarded with ads 24/7 also contributes to thinking that you can just buy your way out of everything. mental health issues? better help financial troubles? masterworks no career? brilliant courses these only sell you at best band-aid solutions while you ignore larger issues with non-stop consumption
Mental health issues? Your insurance has a list of in-network certified counsillors and psychiatrists who are gauranteed to show to appointments. There are also services which aggregrate listings of licensed therapists and psychiatrists for the uninsured. Monthly therapy is still cheaper than insurance. Financial trouble? Track your money and figure out exactly why. Tip, berries, meat and alcohol are expensive, and you really don't need five monthly subscriptions. No career? Your home state's Department of Labor can help for free, and there are almost certainly local groups who can help with your resume. I know my home state has a website for finding apprenticeships in your choice of field. Also, KhanAcademy is both free and thorough. Edited for thoroughness and to be less sarcastic.
Also - offloading your ability to confront every material and social issue onto a prepackaged service makes you a generally less capable person in daily life.
Brilliant actually has good courses and I've not seen it sold as a 'career finder/builder'. It's very useful for people who want to learn outside of their professional field. Teaching well is difficult (as I've observed both doing it and being the learner). Yes, you can find free videos and pirated textbooks, but no one is putting together interactive aids and doodads, quizzes etc and packaging it all for you for free. Brilliant has a very decent value proposition and ins't usually sold as a crutch for a life problem.
Funnily enough in the beauty space the advice "if they mention negatives, it's probably a genuine endorsement" doesn't work. Influencers have said before that they might ask a sponsoring brand if they can talk about how (in a video showcasing multiple products from a brand, for example) a particular product didn't work for them, but who it might work instead.
I find it funny that you bring up reading reddit posts about products before buying, because I know that's precisely what I do, and what many people I know do. For all the flak that reddit (rightfully) gets, it's at least a place that people go to express their opinions in a much more honest manner (given the post isn't on r/all and they just want karma)
same here, i look up almost anything for reviews on reddit. but reddit is also filled with astroturfing im sure, especially as it’s reputation for reviews becomes more common 😔
No site is better for collecting the general feelings a specific group of people has towards something. There will be trolls and shills and such but it's pretty rare that I don't walk away from reddit with an accurate understanding of whatever product I'm looking into.
Same. Especially regarding something like skincare or which air fryer is the best, I think it is miles better than UA-cam, Instagram and TikTok. Realistically, lots of individual normal people aren't going be lying about secret advertising. As insufferable as the people on reddit are, it does feel nice that most reviews are reviews and nit ads.
For me, if an influencer has ever shilled for Raid: Shadow Legends or any mid-tier app/game, I’m pretty much forever going to ignore any products they try to hype up. From that point on, it’s evident that they’ll be a spokesperson for anything so long as there is a check involved. At that point, their endorsement carries zero weight in my book.
That is an utterly bizarre perspective for me that left me stunned for a few seconds after reading it, but it does give me a good perspective on how effective these ads are, as it is actually the popular point of view. It's just that it's shocking to me that people give these ads any weight in the first place. They're just ads, of fucking COURSE the creator is just doing it because a check is involved. You mean to tell me that you willingly watch ad reads and sincerely believe that this creator you like wants you to buy the product? Are you telling me that this stupid "influencer" marketing strategy just works THAT fucking easily??? In the first place, how can you even come out of watching this video and still think this? Shaq basically just told you that the advertised products aren't something he would actually recommend. Like, no shit, all of it is "selling out" and being a "spokesperson for anything so long as there is a check involved". How are you so stupid as to believe otherwise? I guess I'm insane for thinking that everyone just skipped all ads cause they understood that the creator is just doing it for their livelihood.
@@tree_tape 1) Lol, stunned? Calm down. You’re flying off the handle over someone sharing their opinion, an opinion which by no means warrants your reaction. Unless you regularly participate and benefit from the influencer ad scheme, your being offended by my comment makes zero sense. “Ahhhh this guy doesn’t like when people blindly endorse anything and everything! I’m stunned! STUNNED!” 2) Many, many UA-cam creators and influencers vehemently reject product placements and ad endorsements because they, correctly, believe that it will diminish their credibility when they sincerely do want to promote a product or service. Dave Murray has talked about this many times on his channel. I suggest you branch out and start watching a wider range of content and creators.
Their endorsement should almost always carry zero weight. Just treat it as an introduction but whether you actually every send money the sponsors way should be separate. That’s why I almost appreciate raid, like no one takes it serious and the people who do accept that sponsor know that and there’s not really any deceit going on. Other sponsors though get so much worse than raid
@@tree_tape I am utterly baffled that some people watch ANY ad in general be it on TV, youtube or anything, and actually think to buy it without doing research first. The VERY few times i've actually listened to an ad, I only save it for later to do research on it which i've only done around 4 times to my recollection.
The way this video is shot and edited it so refreshing to watch. No background music, and barely any cuts. I don't really know why, but I like the feel of that more than the standardized video essay format.
This was incredibly salient. Extremely captivating, slow paced, seemingly off the cuff, but at the same time well thought out. I’m not just trying to be a goofball when I say that I would definitely enjoy listening to a solo podcast with you just fleshing out your thoughts on anything.
In today's social media, it's rare to come across someone who not only speaks slowly and concisely, but also doesn't speak like the audience is a baby. No dumb distractions, just a man sharing his well-articulated thoughts. If I decide to get into content creation i'd want to be like this guy.
Seriously though, the amount of times adding "reddit" to a product review search on Google has helped cut through the bullshit. Great insights, Shaq, and well spoken.
Not to mention some topics having very drawn out + clickbaity websites/articles and even some that seem AI-generated sigh Appending Reddit to searches truly saves us a lot of sanity and time
@@harkonar4093 "How do I disable gestures Pixel 7" I click the article and it starts, "When I was a kid, tech wasn't really...." I made that up.. but similar has happened to me many times
"isn't gonna buy your cow ass after getting all that free milk" is a killer line. You perhaps spend too much time thinking about this, but that's just cause it's clear based on your body of work and discussions of ethical boundaries that your knee-jerk reaction is gonna serve yourself and the viewers better than the careful thoughts of most people positioned to turn down ad reads. Ty for the long form content, your cooking music set was great, and I'm looking forward to your upcoming film appearance opposite Bowser
The one asterisk to the “do they list negatives” is that some ad reads do list non-substantive negatives to make it seem more objective but really they don’t apply at all either to the target audience or the product itself
I have become weirdly immune to youtuber and podcast ad reads as they are almost always for products I can't access here in the non-US world. So they really do go over my head and I'm just glad my fave creators can pay their bills. Maybe the lesson is I should be listening to more local stuff but oh well.
I know you've worked in ads & marketing before, I'd love to hear more of your thoughts and experiences in the industry. Gotta be a great pipeline going from marketing -> content creation, knowing how to gain and retain attention.
Thank you for pointing this out. I think in this age, where companies have convinced consumers that they're friends, it's refreshing. I believe a proper review is always going to list actual cons since that is the essence of design(tradeoffs).
My general rule of thumb is never buying anything I get advertised to. Unless the content creator I'm watching has proved his integrity before, I won't even give a second look to the advertised product
If the product looks interesting, research it, and if it seems like a genuine worthwhile product that fulfills a need you really need fulfilled and isn’t something you can get somewhere else for cheaper or better quality, then sure go ahead and use the influencer’s link and get the product you need. Otherwise don’t bother, which is 99% of all cases
Definitely thought about the pepper grinder thing before you brought it up as an example of not being able to force people to think critically. You tell them "X thing is useless/bad, don't buy it", and people buy it anyway because they're stupid. It makes you wonder if it was all worth it, but you have a stronger sense of ethics than most other people. It's why you made this video in the first place instead of just raking in the ad money.
I swear they should show this video in schools. I'm constantly impressed by how clearly, cleanly and level-headedly you present your ideas. You make legitimate criticisms without ever being dismissive or disrespectful.
Philip DeFranco keeps running into problems with sponsors. It's almost like he takes the contract w/o actually looking into whether or not the product (usually a new app) is any good (Robin Hood, Better Help, etc). It kind of sucks, especially since he sells so much PDS merch anyway.
@@FranziskaNagel445 learn to do your own taxes👀 If you learn to the tax code in your country it'll benefit you when you decide to run a farm, business or even are a salaried person. Once you understand how deductions work you'll understand how to better keep your money for the long term. If an app does the job for you, you'll get the job done but miss out on the education and potential wealth.
I've not been like, a devoted watcher of your videos, they're just something I've been tangentially aware of, but I've always had nothing but the utmost respect for the way you interface with advertisements
A salient message I'm glad you shared. At the same time, I did buy that md/wtr milk frother wand you made a short about maybe about a year ago. I love it so much lol
That Pedro Pascal ad was super weird. I think that's the only time my partner and I sat through a random ad we could have skipped. Guess it worked. No way I'm gonna play that garbage tho, already forgot what it was called.
I really appreciate you making this video so thank you! I used to be very involved in the beauty community during its heyday and even though I knew that the content creators would benefit from me buying products in some way and that they didn't need to be completely truthful about the product, I still got swayed by the "this product is so amazing you need to buy it asap" rhetoric several times only to be disappointed when they were good quality products but not as outstanding or game changing that they made them seem like. It also fostered the idea of spending a lot of money on products you don't actually need so that you can have a huge collection like the influencers do and be constantly trying out as many new products as possible to finally find a perfect product for you. I'm ultimately thankful for buying into the hype as I now know exactly what I like and if something is worth the price so I can get a good deal on products that I'll actually use rather than taking a risk on more expensive products that I may never use because more expensive = better product or that certain brands will always create good products which isn't true. Nowadays I'll use influencers as a means to know about new products on the market and do my own separate research to find if a product will work for me when I actually want/ need it rather than buying stuff just for the sake of it and getting that dopamine rush. It unfortunately seems like there's a resurgence of this negative mindset on tiktok since there's a new, unaware, young market of people who take influencer marketing as gospel and can be easily manipulated into buying products but thankfully there's also people who are aware of this manipulation and attempt to educate people so they don't fall for it.
Wow. I went to like this video like 10 ten times watching it. I can’t believe how well you articulated these thoughts, I really value not only the content of this video but your style of communication too. Thank you!
Just saw this video and it not only shows you are a caring person but a smart person who isn’t afraid to say what they don’t know and what they do know
I really appreciate this video. Maybe a year or two ago I made a comment on a video about how your ad for a shipped to your door product was the opposite of the message you had previously preached about rejection of the modern convenience we enjoy today. "If funny internet man says to buy [THING] I should do it!" It's been tough trying to parse the should I, shouldn't I argument, but you are right, just because you like a thing doesn't mean I'll like the same thing and I should keep my hard earned cash in my pocket.
Easiest way to do that is only support creators that you like who have less than 100k subs or get less than 100k views( basically they don't make much money from this and put forward genuine quality videos) And only get products that won't harm you ( no addictive gaming gambling crypto or financial stuff) Most big influencers don't need our money they're already Richy rich and they get paid up front for ad reads.
Man, this channel has all my favourite videos by you. When I get my next job I'll give your Patreon a go if there's more like this on there. If this is thinking too much about this stuff, I don't want to think a reasonable amount about it.
This reminds me that Hank Green on his podcast Dear Hank and John was my first encounter with ad reads that actually included caveats and a hint of con to the product's pros. It was a breathe of fresh air and really caught my ear.
Superb video. This is the deepest thought I've seen any youtuber bring to these issues. I often get offers to "push" products and I just can't do it. I also have not done any paid sponsorships.
I appreciate the amount of detail and thought you put into this discussion. I'd like to think that if there's people who are buying fire extinguishers through your affiliate link instead of the hardware store, it's people making a deliberate decision to direct some of those dollars at you. It's hard to feel like any of us are making an active choice in response to advertising, ever, so it's refreshing to be able to sit back and approach that question again.
Damn, this is a good ad. But in all seriousness, thank you for such an honest piece. This was such a lovely and strangely relaxing watch. Keep it up IS ❤
The problem with having this mindset is that even if an influencer isn’t directly responsible for a person decisions, they are a part of a huge advertising industry that is part of a highly effective propaganda machine. You will always succumb to some form of advertising. Disregarding any personal responsibility for influencing people is irresponsible, there’s no ethical consumption under capitalism.
It's so refreshing to listen to someone who has an attention span and can talk without needing to cut every other second. Genuinely find it commendable
YES FINALLY GOD I've been posting comments for years on any audible sponsorship i found that Libby also exists, it's nice to see a real, actual mention of it :3
Wow, I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts on sponsored content on youtube. About this strange water bottle with the smell capsules: the company is a startup from Germany and all the people I know who own such a bottle I would call himbos
Thanks for making this video, I really appreciate the patience and respect you are delivering your message with here. As someone who is often one of those everything-is-an-ad people, I recognize that my frustrations are to a good degree inneffectual: I'd like the world to be a lot different to what it is now, not just about how many ads there are, but there's the inertia of human psychology and huge market and societal forces at play, getting annoyed in the comment section of some influencer just isn't very conducive to anything worthwhile. Its good to be reminded about the how's and why's things can be the way they are in a plain way.
i literally get annoyed sometimes just from going out and having to see car logos on every vehicle everywhere i look but what am i gonna do about that. scratch out every logo? call the ceo of ford?? its easier to take it out on an individual person who has their comments open like at least you have somewhere to aim lol
My thing is that once you’re in the influencer economy “maintaining good relationships with brands” is always in the back of your mind so even if it isn’t sponsored people are going to bite their tongue
You can't ignore the negative aspects of your sponsorships just because you are just an "ad reader". If you are promoting gambling, you are creating gambling addicts out of your own viewers, you can be fine with being morally bankrupt but don't act like you have nothing to blame. If you are promoting something you should do your research and absolutely not say yes to everything.
The only youtuber promoted ad I've ever given a shit about was Norm Macdonald's short lived (RIP) mangrate ads. "Jesus Christ is any of your family fuckin alive!?"
Really good & nuanced video as always ❤ I would argue though that there is an ethical difference between promoting gambling and promoting a product; at least with the latter, whoever pays for it still gets the product, while the former is actively predatory and will pretty much guarantee money loss for nothing in return & possibly lead to addiction. There's a different degree of dishonesty there, especially with gaming content where the viewers skew young. I feel like it's not the same as wasting a few dollars on like a pan that's sub-par or slightly too expensive. At least you still end up with a pan
Voodoo Ranger is honestly one of my absolute favorite beer brands, I haven’t had a beer that wasn’t delicious, it was more a sliding scale of pretty good to greatest beer of all time
Extranet Shaquille coming in to try and teach critical thinking to a UA-cam audience. It's a bold strategy.
Lets see if its gonna pay off for him
@@ecp711 you're telling me he's sponsored by big thinking?! I knew it was too good to be true
UA-cam has a pretty big audience. I'm guessing most people who watch him are not idiots. Joshua Weissman on the other hand......
Reddit should chase him out of town
Take that back!
This is actually a major topic in the LEGO community, of all things. LEGO creators are likely to be biased for monetary reasons. They have affiliate links to purchase LEGO sets in their description. Therefore they are motivated to hype up / show off the best aspects of a product or give a more positive review. If you are in LAN (basically a LEGO affiliate network) you get LEGO products for free, early. They are motivated to stay in LEGO's good graces even if they are allowed to give negative reviews. Hell, some LEGO creators are even "investment gurus" that hype up the value of certain retired sets... while also selling their hoarded sets at the high speculative price.
And then there are channels like Held der Steine who mercilessly tears into Lego products and all other block products when he dislikes them.
So the few times he praises a product all around or when he mentions upsides for certain people, you can be sure that it is pretty close to his own opinion.
This is a problem with film reviews in a smaller scale. Lego is more of a controlled market.
So interesting, though not surprising - to see these kinds of relationships and driving factors in all sorts of human communities, even LEGO) Thank you for sharing!
don't forget to mention that LEGO actually sued him. it was, as I recall, about his logo. they tried to silence him, but it didn't stop him and he still produces.
To be a little fair to the Lego guys, what you described is true of any one who does reviews for a living.
Even gaming companies do similar things where they send early review copies. And the kinda messed up part is that they don't necessarily need to include additional payments or advertisements to incentivizes more positive reviews.
Like example, if your partnered with lets say Nintendo and they send you early review copies. That means you get to have a well structured review up before every one else. And being early is important. And if you happen to give them a lot of critical reviews, why would they continue?
They could just end the partnership and now you will have your review either uploaded much later than the rest or your forced to upload an first impressions type of video to stay on top. Like it's bonkers.
it's not just about 'don't buy the stuff influencers sell you impulsively'. being bombarded with ads 24/7 also contributes to thinking that you can just buy your way out of everything.
mental health issues? better help
financial troubles? masterworks
no career? brilliant courses
these only sell you at best band-aid solutions while you ignore larger issues with non-stop consumption
I used to be a nobody, but now with Established Titles, I’m a Lord nobody
@@uglypinkeraser laird
Mental health issues? Your insurance has a list of in-network certified counsillors and psychiatrists who are gauranteed to show to appointments. There are also services which aggregrate listings of licensed therapists and psychiatrists for the uninsured. Monthly therapy is still cheaper than insurance.
Financial trouble? Track your money and figure out exactly why. Tip, berries, meat and alcohol are expensive, and you really don't need five monthly subscriptions.
No career? Your home state's Department of Labor can help for free, and there are almost certainly local groups who can help with your resume. I know my home state has a website for finding apprenticeships in your choice of field. Also, KhanAcademy is both free and thorough.
Edited for thoroughness and to be less sarcastic.
Also - offloading your ability to confront every material and social issue onto a prepackaged service makes you a generally less capable person in daily life.
Brilliant actually has good courses and I've not seen it sold as a 'career finder/builder'. It's very useful for people who want to learn outside of their professional field. Teaching well is difficult (as I've observed both doing it and being the learner). Yes, you can find free videos and pirated textbooks, but no one is putting together interactive aids and doodads, quizzes etc and packaging it all for you for free. Brilliant has a very decent value proposition and ins't usually sold as a crutch for a life problem.
Funnily enough in the beauty space the advice "if they mention negatives, it's probably a genuine endorsement" doesn't work. Influencers have said before that they might ask a sponsoring brand if they can talk about how (in a video showcasing multiple products from a brand, for example) a particular product didn't work for them, but who it might work instead.
That's giving big "my biggest flaw is I work too hard" answer energy in an interview
I find it funny that you bring up reading reddit posts about products before buying, because I know that's precisely what I do, and what many people I know do. For all the flak that reddit (rightfully) gets, it's at least a place that people go to express their opinions in a much more honest manner (given the post isn't on r/all and they just want karma)
same here, i look up almost anything for reviews on reddit. but reddit is also filled with astroturfing im sure, especially as it’s reputation for reviews becomes more common 😔
@@gulliver517You can look at the profile history to see if it is a bot. Plus astroturfing usually occurs in highly upvoted posts.
No site is better for collecting the general feelings a specific group of people has towards something. There will be trolls and shills and such but it's pretty rare that I don't walk away from reddit with an accurate understanding of whatever product I'm looking into.
Before almost every purchase I make, I look up “X product Reddit review” because most people share their honest opinions in situations like me
Same. Especially regarding something like skincare or which air fryer is the best, I think it is miles better than UA-cam, Instagram and TikTok. Realistically, lots of individual normal people aren't going be lying about secret advertising. As insufferable as the people on reddit are, it does feel nice that most reviews are reviews and nit ads.
For me, if an influencer has ever shilled for Raid: Shadow Legends or any mid-tier app/game, I’m pretty much forever going to ignore any products they try to hype up. From that point on, it’s evident that they’ll be a spokesperson for anything so long as there is a check involved. At that point, their endorsement carries zero weight in my book.
this is me but with creators that endorse VPN apps/sites
That is an utterly bizarre perspective for me that left me stunned for a few seconds after reading it, but it does give me a good perspective on how effective these ads are, as it is actually the popular point of view.
It's just that it's shocking to me that people give these ads any weight in the first place. They're just ads, of fucking COURSE the creator is just doing it because a check is involved. You mean to tell me that you willingly watch ad reads and sincerely believe that this creator you like wants you to buy the product? Are you telling me that this stupid "influencer" marketing strategy just works THAT fucking easily???
In the first place, how can you even come out of watching this video and still think this? Shaq basically just told you that the advertised products aren't something he would actually recommend. Like, no shit, all of it is "selling out" and being a "spokesperson for anything so long as there is a check involved". How are you so stupid as to believe otherwise? I guess I'm insane for thinking that everyone just skipped all ads cause they understood that the creator is just doing it for their livelihood.
@@tree_tape 1) Lol, stunned? Calm down. You’re flying off the handle over someone sharing their opinion, an opinion which by no means warrants your reaction. Unless you regularly participate and benefit from the influencer ad scheme, your being offended by my comment makes zero sense. “Ahhhh this guy doesn’t like when people blindly endorse anything and everything! I’m stunned! STUNNED!”
2) Many, many UA-cam creators and influencers vehemently reject product placements and ad endorsements because they, correctly, believe that it will diminish their credibility when they sincerely do want to promote a product or service. Dave Murray has talked about this many times on his channel. I suggest you branch out and start watching a wider range of content and creators.
Their endorsement should almost always carry zero weight. Just treat it as an introduction but whether you actually every send money the sponsors way should be separate. That’s why I almost appreciate raid, like no one takes it serious and the people who do accept that sponsor know that and there’s not really any deceit going on. Other sponsors though get so much worse than raid
@@tree_tape I am utterly baffled that some people watch ANY ad in general be it on TV, youtube or anything, and actually think to buy it without doing research first. The VERY few times i've actually listened to an ad, I only save it for later to do research on it which i've only done around 4 times to my recollection.
The way this video is shot and edited it so refreshing to watch. No background music, and barely any cuts. I don't really know why, but I like the feel of that more than the standardized video essay format.
Because the majority of content online is designed to appeal to the majority user base, children.
This was incredibly salient. Extremely captivating, slow paced, seemingly off the cuff, but at the same time well thought out. I’m not just trying to be a goofball when I say that I would definitely enjoy listening to a solo podcast with you just fleshing out your thoughts on anything.
+
It's pretty ridiculous his good his command of language is.
I want him and Adam Ragusea to do a podcast together
In today's social media, it's rare to come across someone who not only speaks slowly and concisely, but also doesn't speak like the audience is a baby. No dumb distractions, just a man sharing his well-articulated thoughts. If I decide to get into content creation i'd want to be like this guy.
+++
Seriously though, the amount of times adding "reddit" to a product review search on Google has helped cut through the bullshit. Great insights, Shaq, and well spoken.
Not just product reviews but almost any search benefits from adding reddit
@@timon240 Exactly. Straight searches suck if it isn't a carbon copy question that is very likely to be asked by hundreds of thousands of people.
Not to mention some topics having very drawn out + clickbaity websites/articles and even some that seem AI-generated sigh
Appending Reddit to searches truly saves us a lot of sanity and time
@@harkonar4093 "How do I disable gestures Pixel 7"
I click the article and it starts, "When I was a kid, tech wasn't really...."
I made that up.. but similar has happened to me many times
"isn't gonna buy your cow ass after getting all that free milk" is a killer line. You perhaps spend too much time thinking about this, but that's just cause it's clear based on your body of work and discussions of ethical boundaries that your knee-jerk reaction is gonna serve yourself and the viewers better than the careful thoughts of most people positioned to turn down ad reads. Ty for the long form content, your cooking music set was great, and I'm looking forward to your upcoming film appearance opposite Bowser
10:58
Damn, you got to Free Beer level? You made it, bro.
fr that’s insane, talk about envy
The one asterisk to the “do they list negatives” is that some ad reads do list non-substantive negatives to make it seem more objective but really they don’t apply at all either to the target audience or the product itself
I have become weirdly immune to youtuber and podcast ad reads as they are almost always for products I can't access here in the non-US world. So they really do go over my head and I'm just glad my fave creators can pay their bills. Maybe the lesson is I should be listening to more local stuff but oh well.
especially when it’s
“Text MYNAME to” and then an impossibly short phone number that can only be the US
I bet this is an ad.
I know you've worked in ads & marketing before, I'd love to hear more of your thoughts and experiences in the industry. Gotta be a great pipeline going from marketing -> content creation, knowing how to gain and retain attention.
Thank you for pointing this out. I think in this age, where companies have convinced consumers that they're friends, it's refreshing. I believe a proper review is always going to list actual cons since that is the essence of design(tradeoffs).
l
L
One of the big issues with gambling sponsors was/is that the streamers had large under 18 audiences.
For real though I love that you are a POSITIVE ROLE MODEL thank you Shaq for sharing the strength of your conviction
My general rule of thumb is never buying anything I get advertised to. Unless the content creator I'm watching has proved his integrity before, I won't even give a second look to the advertised product
If the product looks interesting, research it, and if it seems like a genuine worthwhile product that fulfills a need you really need fulfilled and isn’t something you can get somewhere else for cheaper or better quality, then sure go ahead and use the influencer’s link and get the product you need. Otherwise don’t bother, which is 99% of all cases
Definitely thought about the pepper grinder thing before you brought it up as an example of not being able to force people to think critically. You tell them "X thing is useless/bad, don't buy it", and people buy it anyway because they're stupid. It makes you wonder if it was all worth it, but you have a stronger sense of ethics than most other people. It's why you made this video in the first place instead of just raking in the ad money.
I swear they should show this video in schools. I'm constantly impressed by how clearly, cleanly and level-headedly you present your ideas. You make legitimate criticisms without ever being dismissive or disrespectful.
Philip DeFranco keeps running into problems with sponsors. It's almost like he takes the contract w/o actually looking into whether or not the product (usually a new app) is any good (Robin Hood, Better Help, etc).
It kind of sucks, especially since he sells so much PDS merch anyway.
Honestly, I feel like any healthcare/financial type of ad is going to be risky.
@@Rhaifha financial /gambling / crypto ads are a strict no - no.
@@shadow_realm47 what about tax apps?
@@FranziskaNagel445 learn to do your own taxes👀
If you learn to the tax code in your country it'll benefit you when you decide to run a farm, business or even are a salaried person.
Once you understand how deductions work you'll understand how to better keep your money for the long term.
If an app does the job for you, you'll get the job done but miss out on the education and potential wealth.
Hasnt betterhelp improved?
Ive seen a least 5 other youtube regularly being sponsored by them, on occasion.
I've not been like, a devoted watcher of your videos, they're just something I've been tangentially aware of, but I've always had nothing but the utmost respect for the way you interface with advertisements
It's impressive that you're even bothered Shaq, has made me loyal to your channel because I appreciate the thought behind everything you produce.
I like this slower, hangoutier format!
Every extra bit of insight from you, either on here or the main channel, is greatly appreciated.
A salient message I'm glad you shared.
At the same time, I did buy that md/wtr milk frother wand you made a short about maybe about a year ago. I love it so much lol
That Pedro Pascal ad was super weird. I think that's the only time my partner and I sat through a random ad we could have skipped. Guess it worked. No way I'm gonna play that garbage tho, already forgot what it was called.
“I wish you infinite wealth and peace” is absolutely wonderful thank you
I really appreciate you making this video so thank you! I used to be very involved in the beauty community during its heyday and even though I knew that the content creators would benefit from me buying products in some way and that they didn't need to be completely truthful about the product, I still got swayed by the "this product is so amazing you need to buy it asap" rhetoric several times only to be disappointed when they were good quality products but not as outstanding or game changing that they made them seem like. It also fostered the idea of spending a lot of money on products you don't actually need so that you can have a huge collection like the influencers do and be constantly trying out as many new products as possible to finally find a perfect product for you. I'm ultimately thankful for buying into the hype as I now know exactly what I like and if something is worth the price so I can get a good deal on products that I'll actually use rather than taking a risk on more expensive products that I may never use because more expensive = better product or that certain brands will always create good products which isn't true. Nowadays I'll use influencers as a means to know about new products on the market and do my own separate research to find if a product will work for me when I actually want/ need it rather than buying stuff just for the sake of it and getting that dopamine rush. It unfortunately seems like there's a resurgence of this negative mindset on tiktok since there's a new, unaware, young market of people who take influencer marketing as gospel and can be easily manipulated into buying products but thankfully there's also people who are aware of this manipulation and attempt to educate people so they don't fall for it.
loving the increasing frequency of short lil posts on this channel, shaqy
Thank you for this candid and well-worded video.
Wow. I went to like this video like 10 ten times watching it. I can’t believe how well you articulated these thoughts, I really value not only the content of this video but your style of communication too. Thank you!
Wonderfully said and to the point. Great video!
My new favorite channel! Happy to see you doing more stuff like this.
Just saw this video and it not only shows you are a caring person but a smart person who isn’t afraid to say what they don’t know and what they do know
This was really well thought out and explained! Thank you
I really appreciate this video. Maybe a year or two ago I made a comment on a video about how your ad for a shipped to your door product was the opposite of the message you had previously preached about rejection of the modern convenience we enjoy today. "If funny internet man says to buy [THING] I should do it!" It's been tough trying to parse the should I, shouldn't I argument, but you are right, just because you like a thing doesn't mean I'll like the same thing and I should keep my hard earned cash in my pocket.
Easiest way to do that is only support creators that you like who have less than 100k subs or get less than 100k views( basically they don't make much money from this and put forward genuine quality videos)
And only get products that won't harm you ( no addictive gaming gambling crypto or financial stuff)
Most big influencers don't need our money they're already Richy rich and they get paid up front for ad reads.
You are so smart and articulate!
Glad I found this. You are an OG food channel I've watched and really enjoy your insights.
Man, this channel has all my favourite videos by you. When I get my next job I'll give your Patreon a go if there's more like this on there. If this is thinking too much about this stuff, I don't want to think a reasonable amount about it.
great video! and it somehow was unbelievably relaxing to listen to
This reminds me that Hank Green on his podcast Dear Hank and John was my first encounter with ad reads that actually included caveats and a hint of con to the product's pros. It was a breathe of fresh air and really caught my ear.
i really love this style of video. the way you directly tal;k is excellent and the script is great. good video
This is a very important video to have made, and I am glad it made its way onto my feed.
Superb video. This is the deepest thought I've seen any youtuber bring to these issues. I often get offers to "push" products and I just can't do it. I also have not done any paid sponsorships.
I appreciate the amount of detail and thought you put into this discussion. I'd like to think that if there's people who are buying fire extinguishers through your affiliate link instead of the hardware store, it's people making a deliberate decision to direct some of those dollars at you. It's hard to feel like any of us are making an active choice in response to advertising, ever, so it's refreshing to be able to sit back and approach that question again.
Shaq is a man of integrity
Yo, i’ve been looking for this video for a while now. I saw this video a long time ago and it’s lived rent free in my head ever since. Thanks for this
Damn, this is a good ad.
But in all seriousness, thank you for such an honest piece. This was such a lovely and strangely relaxing watch. Keep it up IS ❤
A lot of these conundrums are solved from understanding that other peoples decisions are not your responsibility
The problem with having this mindset is that even if an influencer isn’t directly responsible for a person decisions, they are a part of a huge advertising industry that is part of a highly effective propaganda machine. You will always succumb to some form of advertising. Disregarding any personal responsibility for influencing people is irresponsible, there’s no ethical consumption under capitalism.
@@minermortal1997 when the somewhat decent movie has a very weird twist at the end
I could listen to this all day
Wow how well spoken. I'm very impressed, earned a sub
Ok first time I have evere been recommended any of your content, it's worthwhile
appreciate the sophisticated and nuanced arguments
It's so refreshing to listen to someone who has an attention span and can talk without needing to cut every other second. Genuinely find it commendable
The internet doesn't deserve this man honestly
This is what Tim Berners Lee wanted.
Almost nothing is deserved, except things like human rights.
You're a good man. Honesty on UA-cam...incredible :)
He was paid to be honest. I wonder how many of the brands he mentioned paid for this video. I bet it was the pepper cannon
/s
Thank you for the thoughtful video.
can i just say its nice to see a UA-camr holding a mic and not wearing headphones for no reason
didn’t even realize this was a 2nd channel video! i really enjoyed it :)
Actual goated content. Funny and informative.
It's actually wild to see someone talking about this stuff so objectively
YES
FINALLY
GOD
I've been posting comments for years on any audible sponsorship i found that Libby also exists, it's nice to see a real, actual mention of it :3
Internet Shaq is an absolute legend for his integrity on this platform
Truly an excellent video!
Awesome insight! I wish I could subscribe again just for your mention of Libby.
Wow, I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts on sponsored content on youtube.
About this strange water bottle with the smell capsules: the company is a startup from Germany and all the people I know who own such a bottle I would call himbos
Da king is back baby he neva miss
i enjoyed this topic but am extra impressed that this was filmed in like, what, 3-4 takes? okay professional orator!!! go off!!!
The nerve of this guy, shilling all this honesty and integrity. I wonder who sponsored this one.
Love the insight
Thanks for making this video, I really appreciate the patience and respect you are delivering your message with here.
As someone who is often one of those everything-is-an-ad people, I recognize that my frustrations are to a good degree inneffectual: I'd like the world to be a lot different to what it is now, not just about how many ads there are, but there's the inertia of human psychology and huge market and societal forces at play, getting annoyed in the comment section of some influencer just isn't very conducive to anything worthwhile. Its good to be reminded about the how's and why's things can be the way they are in a plain way.
i literally get annoyed sometimes just from going out and having to see car logos on every vehicle everywhere i look but what am i gonna do about that. scratch out every logo? call the ceo of ford?? its easier to take it out on an individual person who has their comments open like at least you have somewhere to aim lol
I think you have become my favorite UA-camr in the span of an hour. I really vibe with you.
Born to enjoy products. Forced to find the good ones and purchase them
This channel is great!
This was a really good video. I’d watch a lot of this content.
Hope you make a course for all of this cool knowledge and experience.
What a massively informative and nuanced, thought provoking video for an ad about a cucumber scented water bottle
This is exactly why I like LazerPig ad reads, his latest one even had a whole storyline about French art cinema if memory serves me correctly.
Your voice is so soothing noromo
My thing is that once you’re in the influencer economy “maintaining good relationships with brands” is always in the back of your mind so even if it isn’t sponsored people are going to bite their tongue
I just... really dig this guy.
you are my favorite “content creator”
Would you ever consider doing these kinds of videos in short podcast form? I'd love being able to listen on my commutes
much love ❤❤
this was a great video.
(i keep finding cooking ytbers thru their non cooking content for some reason)
You can't ignore the negative aspects of your sponsorships just because you are just an "ad reader".
If you are promoting gambling, you are creating gambling addicts out of your own viewers, you can be fine with being morally bankrupt but don't act like you have nothing to blame.
If you are promoting something you should do your research and absolutely not say yes to everything.
Thank you for this, i learned a bit about internet advertising!
holy shit that was really really elequantly put and a very helpful and important video to be made thank you
Good talk man
The only youtuber promoted ad I've ever given a shit about was Norm Macdonald's short lived (RIP) mangrate ads. "Jesus Christ is any of your family fuckin alive!?"
My god those were perfect. I'm sure they were still much more effective than if he'd just seriously read some statement out loud.
That last part was FUCKING BARS. NO FREE PROMO EVER. Literally no point in aiding a corporation without mutual benefit
Yay, Libby shout out!
Real shot-chaser moment having this follow the April 1st video
You’re so so good.
Really good & nuanced video as always ❤ I would argue though that there is an ethical difference between promoting gambling and promoting a product; at least with the latter, whoever pays for it still gets the product, while the former is actively predatory and will pretty much guarantee money loss for nothing in return & possibly lead to addiction. There's a different degree of dishonesty there, especially with gaming content where the viewers skew young. I feel like it's not the same as wasting a few dollars on like a pan that's sub-par or slightly too expensive. At least you still end up with a pan
Really interesting video. I didn’t realize being an influencer was so nice. No wonder all the kids want to be one
This is the longest-winded ad for a weird water bottle I've ever seen.
Tbh that’s a sweet voodoo ranger situation you got there. Those “ads” don’t bother me, just makes me jealous
Voodoo Ranger is honestly one of my absolute favorite beer brands, I haven’t had a beer that wasn’t delicious, it was more a sliding scale of pretty good to greatest beer of all time