It's Tuesday.
YouTube is prepping a feature to help creators share more audience data with advertisers – for brand deals, affiliate promos, and ad partnerships. (👀 Great for brands who want context and conversion.)
Big brands caught advertising on AI slop YouTube videos
Ads for HBO Max, Amazon Hub, Samsung, and Adobe have been spotted running against low-effort AI-generated YouTube content – some of it misleading, deepfaked, or just plain weird.
One video falsely featured a deepfaked Pope praising a foreign military leader. It got over 1M views before YouTube took it down.
Other “slop” channels used Minions, Joker, or Mickey Mouse in AI voiceover videos – and still had major brand ads running alongside.
YouTube currently offers no way to opt out of AI-generated content. Ad placements are based on video content – not production method.
The takeaway: AI-generated junk is flooding YouTube faster than platforms can moderate it. For brands, it’s a brand safety headache – especially when reach and risk are growing in equal measure.
🤝 Supported by minisocial
Why do over 1,000 brands trust minisocial for their UGC and micro-influencer campaigns? It's simple:
High-quality, Fully-Licensed Content: Content that actually feels on-brand and is ready to use wherever you need it – ads, social media, emails, and your website.
Expert Management: Their industry experts handle everything from creator booking, communication, and asset delivery, so you know you’re getting good quality each and ever time. They give you all the control you want without any of the busy work!
No Long-Term Commitments: Pay per project, with no hidden fees. Perfect for scaling ad content and campaigns centered around timely activations like Back to School!
Posts from micro-influencers who truly match your brand, the right creators will drive results and create a community around your brand.
What brands working with minisocial say:
"Ads made with minisocial content are performing better than anything we've made in-house." - Michael, Growth Marketing Manager
"minisocial's cost per creator is cheaper than our in-house program." - Andrea, Digital Campaigns Manager
Shopify quietly sets boundaries for AI bots
Shopify just slipped a new line into every merchant site’s code: bots that auto-complete purchases or scrape data? Not allowed.
This isn’t an AI ban. It’s Shopify telling agents: if you want access, use the official Checkout Kit.
Why it matters:
Amazon and Walmart are leaning into autonomous shopping agents. Shopify’s drawing a line early – protecting its ecosystem and merchant trust.
The takeaway:
Agentic AI is coming, but platforms are staking claims now. Shopify’s saying: build here, but play by our rules.
Meme pages are the new media plan
Brands are ditching polished influencer ads for something scrappier – and way more effective.
Smalls showed up on SubwayTakes through a casual “cat dad” convo (no logo, no pitch).
Ghia launched a Nalgene via GirlsCarryingShit – instantly viral.
Little Spoon’s bag collab got 1M organic views and a 23% engagement rate – without paid spend.
These aren’t traditional spon posts. They’re culture-first plays on high-engagement pages that rarely do branded work.
The takeaway:
Hard to scale. Pricey. But if you want attention without the ad fatigue, this is where the cool brands are playing.
