The disclosure rules for influencer ads in the Philippines

If your influencer campaign promotes a product in a must-screen category, makes a must-screen claim, or carries brand assets in a coordinated way, it is treated as advertising by the ASC. That means substantiation, disclosure, and signed endorser certifications all apply — and the brand carries the liability when they don't.

The April 2024 Code revision tightened guidance on influencer content. Here's how it now works.

The Code's three-tier framework

Article V Section 10 of the Code distinguishes three categories of influencer relationship:

1. Influencer under contract with the advertiser, posting about a product in a must-screen category or carrying a must-screen claim. The claims must be supported by third-party studies. A signed and notarized testimonial does not replace the substantiation requirement.
2. Influencer whose contract has expired. Claims made after the contract ends are not the responsibility of the advertiser.
3. Influencer with no contract, past or present. Claims are not the advertiser's responsibility. But if the advertiser falsely declares no relationship and is later proven wrong, the advertiser faces penalties akin to Blatant Disregard of ASC Rules.

When is content "advertising"?

The ASC considers content as advertising when it carries brand cues and identification, when airtime/placement has been paid in cash or kind (or is part of a packaged agency transaction), or when it contains a claim that is readable or highlighted.

A celebrity casually mentioning their preferred brand at a press event is not necessarily advertising. The same celebrity making the same mention as part of a paid contract, with brand-supplied copy points, is.

Coordinated brand activity is screenable

Where brand-positive posts are made through "a concerted, organized and consistent effort" by the company, internal groups, or management/employees in public settings, such posts can be the subject of an ASC complaint. Astroturfing through staff is explicitly within scope.

What "disclosure" actually requires

Disclosure of a paid partnership is required where the relationship is material. The Code does not specify exact hashtag wording (#ad, #sponsored, #paidpartnership), but the principle is clear — the consumer must be able to tell the content is sponsored. Platform-native disclosure tags (Instagram Paid Partnership label, TikTok Branded Content toggle) are the cleanest implementation.

Disclosure in caption only — buried below the fold, in a forest of hashtags — is a known weak point. The committee and DTI both watch for this pattern. Disclosure should be:

• Visible without expanding the caption.
• Clear in plain language (or platform-native tagging).
• Present from the first frame for video, not added in a graphic at the end.

Substantiation does not transfer to the influencer

This is the most-missed point. A brand under contract with an influencer cannot offload the substantiation requirement onto the influencer's testimonial. If the influencer says "this is the best whitening product I've used," the brand still needs the third-party research to substantiate the implicit comparative claim.

Signed and notarized endorser certifications are required for any testimonial — but they document the endorser's personal experience, not the truth of the claim.

Must-screen categories on influencer content

Influencer content for OTC drugs, food and dietary supplements, Milk Code products, alcohol, and promotional transport fares is treated the same as broadcast — fully within mandatory pre-screening. Common implementation gaps:

• Food supplement influencer content missing the mandatory "MAHALAGANG PAALALA" message.
• OTC influencer content missing the generic name rendition or "If symptoms persist, consult your doctor" line.
• Alcohol influencer content showing the influencer drinking (the liquid entering the mouth, the swallow) — explicitly prohibited.

Hashtags carrying must-screen claims

Under Article V Section 1, hashtags that contain a must-screen claim — #1, #LeadingBrand, #BestInClass, comparative or exclusivity hashtags — are subject to pre-screening when used with branded content. An influencer post that tags #NumberOneSerum needs the leadership claim substantiated even though the claim sits in a hashtag rather than the caption.

Who carries the liability

Where the influencer is under contract, the advertiser carries the primary liability. Where the influencer is not under contract and the brand correctly declares no relationship, liability does not flow back. The middle case — where the brand has a relationship but doesn't formally contract for the post — is the riskiest. Document the relationship one way or the other.

Practical operating model

• Pre-clear influencer scripts and claims before content is published, the same way you'd pre-clear a TVC.
• Use platform-native paid-partnership tags. Don't rely on caption-only disclosure.
• Maintain a signed and notarized endorser certification on file. Keep the contract dated.
• Map every influencer claim to substantiation. If the claim can't be substantiated, the influencer cannot say it — your contract should bind this.
• For must-screen categories, screen the influencer creative through the same ASC submission process as broadcast.

Run your next influencer brief through AdScan to flag disclosure and claim risks before the content goes live.