Youtubers as an Advertising Medium
By Riley Cook
Beauty, fashion, and lifestyle channels on YouTube are known for heavy sponsorships; however, as the fashion and beauty industry evolves, so are the brands YouTubers are willing to endorse. A common trend for Youtubers is to post “hauls.” “Hauls” are a type of video in which an individual discusses and shows off his/her recent clothing purchases and favorites. In turn, many fashion brands use popular YouTubers as a medium of advertising (Hanke, 2020, para. 3).
The specific video linked and pictured in this post is one in which Tatiana Ringsby, a YouTuber with 390,000 subscribers, addresses “the truth about fast fashion.” For a large portion of the video, however, she promotes Divinius, a “sustainable, ethical, and transparent luxury fashion” brand (Socially Conscious Women’s Fashion Brand). Ringsby also includes links in the description of specific products she wore/mentioned throughout her video as well as a code for 10% off (Ringsby, 2020).
Newer generations of consumers (Millennials and Gen Z) have proven to be much more passionate about the environment than others and are thus willing to spend the extra money on brands that have been deemed sustainable (Pasquarelli, 2019, para. 2). As a result, many sustainable fashion brands have turned to trendy YouTubers to promote themselves. The video, as well as its comments, inadvertently addresses the increasing consumer demand of “truth and transparency” and how it is seen as popular and cool (Pasquarelli, 2019, para. 7). One comment is “Thank you for using your platform to talk about such important topics!” Another is “You should reach out to Reformation, they are my favorite brand and they are super sustainable.”
There are countless YouTubers like Tatiana Ringsby who use their platform to gain awareness about sustainable fashion, often endorsing eco-friendly brands as they do so.
Sincerely Sustainable 
People often forget the impact purchasing decisions and habits have on the environment because oftentimes it’s not a visible problem. In the video, Tatiana mentions the excess waste from the textile industry and that is something people should better understand, and she did a good job of showing that visually. This post really sheds light on how brands try to get consumers to purchase the newest and best versions they put out. However, most of the time they are barely different from the version people already had and are unknowingly causing a domino effect of problems for the environment. This post highlights the issues of excess waste and consumption really well, and after reading this post people will understand it better.
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That’s a really good point, Maddie. This video definitely makes sure to highlight the importance of understanding the roots of one’s clothing without an accusatory or harsh tone. Aside from this, there’s no environmental jargon that inhibits the message; it’s very concise and easy to understand. Because of how good of a job Tatiana does at explaining why individuals should rethink fast fashion, it might motivate watchers to check out Divinius even more. Thanks for the feedback!
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YouTube is an incredible medium for advertising, as it has almost 2 billion users each month. It is a great way for real people to engage in conversation to either promote or demarket a product verbally and visually. Not only does adding advertisements before videos promote brands, but the content itself has become more involved with business administration through the implementation of marketing. This shows the true power of content in this era and how people are gaining their information online in what seems to be a very clear, friendly approach. The beauty community on YouTube is one in particular to be interconnected and very influential on its viewers. The fact that this video addresses the importance in environmental sustainability through word of mouth promotion emphasizes how this topic can expand even further throughout the beauty community and beyond.
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Thanks for the feedback, Christi! Some YouTubers are paid to endorse brands, while others promote them by simply using the products on screen. As Christi mentioned, the beauty community has a huge impact on its viewers in terms of the products they use and address. Often times, beauty gurus will literally say, “This video is not sponsored! I just love this product.” As a result, the brand being identified by the YouTuber is getting free exposure. These YouTubers frequently will leave links in the description of every makeup product they use, making their favorites extremely accessible to watchers.
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