Tom Syndicate and others were paid $30,000 for positive XboxOne promos

4.7
Machinima paid YouTubers tens of thousands of dollars to promote the Xbox One launch positively without declaring their work was the result of an advertising deal.

The US Federal Trade Commission has found that Machinima paid a group of YouTubers tens of thousands of dollars to promote the launch of Microsoft’s Xbox One without declaring the videos were the result of a lucrative advertising deal.

As part of the deal the videos had to “showcase Microsoft products in positive light”.

YouTuber Syndicate was paid $30,000 and SkyVsGaming $15,000 as part of the deal. Neither disclosed that Machinima paid them to create and upload their videos.

Machinima then paid more YouTubers a total of $25,000 to create videos that “could not contain anything negative or disparaging regarding Machinima, Xbox One, or any launch title” and “keep confidential at all times all matters relating to [the] agreement.”

The FTC found that the promotions were not independently produced or impartial and labelled them “false and misleading”.

“In numerous instances, [Machinima] has failed to disclose, or disclose adequately, that the individuals who posted the reviews were compensated in connection with their endorsements,” it said.

“This fact would be material to consumers in their purchasing decisions regarding Xbox One and the Launch Titles. The failure to disclose this fact, in light of the representations made, was, and is, a deceptive practice.”

Posted:
Related Forum: Xbox Forum

Source: https://www.vg247.com/2015/09/03/youtubers-paid-for-false-misleading-xbox-one-promo/

Comments

"Tom Syndicate and others were paid $30,000 for positive XboxOne promos" :: Login/Create an Account :: 78 comments

If you would like to post a comment please signin to your account or register for an account.

DankStorm-Posted:

I wish I was paid to do this lol....

Im too poor....

Nathan--Posted:

Fair play to Syndicate and the rest of the YouTubers!

AcedPosted:

Alot of money involved but its all business

PolygonPosted:

Don't see the problem of this.
Like vv Deluxe said, it's how business works.

You can't blame them for "selling out".

DeluxeHazardPosted:

This is how business works. Microsoft pay Machinima 100k to pay their clients to positively advertise their products and Machinima shares half of that. Business is business.

Joyful-Posted:

I would totally do that for $30,000 any day of my life. haha.

EverPosted:

I mean it's a business opportunity for them. This is their job, so why not make more money?

Tom-The-GamerPosted:

Be honest guys if you got paid to promote something you did or didn't like you would say positive things about it.

1989Posted:

This is good imo and why are sony fans acting like sony hasn't even done this. Imagine how many companies and people they paid to make the ps4 seem good.

CancerousPosted:

Typical of MS really. No wonder so many people switched to Sony.