[xrjn]

In my eyes, this kind of advertising has existed for quite a while, and is often times too subtle for most people to notice. Casey Neistat, one of the most popular daily vloggers on YouTube, is a great example of this. There are several recurring product placements in his videos, like the Boosted board, Samsung events, and certain airlines, for which there aren't any clear statements about. An example of these undisclosed partnerships/sponsorships was his 'surprise in South Africa' [0] video back from 2012, where it appears that the trip was sponsored by British Airways without any mention of it. At one point in the video, he makes it look like he's calling American Airlines, but in reality he didn't call (some comments back in the day called him out on it). On the other hand, he did mention that Samsung invited him to the Oscars.

I think most people will watch his videos regardless of whether he discloses his relationships, as was the case with the Nike 'make it count' [1] video which many (including me) found inspiring. However it is clear that it is becoming harder and harder to tell apart what is branded content/native advertising and what isn't.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Mg75awALA [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxfZkMm3wcg