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| YouTube bans alcohol advertising in website headers |
YouTube does not accept Masthead banners from certain areas, including sales of alcohol, gambling, prescription drugs, election ads, and political ads.
The video-streaming platform said it has banned ads related to gambling, alcohol and prescription drugs in website addresses (the banners that appear at the top of its website and apps), and political and election ads.
The YouTube title is the rectangle at the top of the homepage and is generally the most expensive and popular ad unit on the platform.
The page title is one of the first things people see when they open YouTube. So it's understandable that turning off ads for drugs, alcohol or gambling makes YouTube more inclusive.
Ads with content related to online or offline gambling (including sports betting and casino games) will be blocked.
The ban also applies to advertising for the sale of alcohol. and advertising for alcoholic beverage brands that do not explicitly mention the sale.
Ads supporting candidates for public office are prohibited. Ads with a political nature (eg problematic ads) will be screened on a case-by-case basis.
YouTube changed its guidelines:
A spokesperson for Google, which owns YouTube, said in a statement: "We believe this update builds on the changes we made to the booking process for banner ads on the site last year. It will bring a better user experience."
For advertisers looking to generate interest before big marketing projects, website addresses are a great opportunity. They appear more often than regular banner ads because they are so visible.
This is the second major change to YouTube's title policy in less than a year. This came after advertisers were banned from booking a full day in November.
In recent years, YouTube's guidelines have been put to the test, particularly when it comes to dealing with fake news and hate speech.
Responding to pressure from major advertisers, the video service was one of three platforms that agreed with Facebook and Twitter last year to conduct an external review of their policies against harmful content.
Google also announced that it will suspend political ads ahead of last year's US presidential election. This deadline was extended to January 6 after riots in the United States Capitol. The ban was lifted in February of this year.