Disclosure-ready campaigns, by default.
Every campaign that runs through Kolabl comes with this guide. It condenses India's ASCI Influencer Guidelines (enforceable via the Consumer Protection Act) and the US FTC endorsement rules into what creators and brands actually need to do.
Why this matters
- Undisclosed paid content is illegal, not just frowned on. In India, ASCI violations can be escalated under the Consumer Protection Act, with CCPA penalties that can reach ₹50 lakh (~$60,000).
- Brands share liability with creators. A missing #Ad on the creator's post is the brand's legal exposure too.
- The overwhelming majority of influencer-marketing violations flagged by ASCI are simple disclosure failures — the cheapest compliance win there is.
The core rules
- Disclose every material connection — payment, free products, affiliate commissions, discount codes, even a brand relationship with no money changing hands.
- The label comes first. #Ad (or “Paid partnership”) must be upfront — in the first line of the caption, visible before the “…more” fold, never buried in a hashtag wall.
- Video needs sight AND sound. Say the disclosure out loud within the first 10 seconds and keep an on-screen label; for longer videos the overlay should stay up long enough that a viewer can't miss it.
- Platform tools alone aren't enough (FTC position): use Instagram's “Paid partnership” tag or YouTube's paid-promotion checkbox in addition to your own label, not instead of it.
- Health & finance content carries extra duty (ASCI, April 2025): creators giving advice-like content must display their qualifications (e.g., SEBI registration, medical credentials) — and brands should only brief credentialed creators for those categories.
Copy-paste templates
Replace the placeholders, keep the label position.
Label FIRST — before any other text, visible without tapping “more”.
#Ad | Paid partnership with @brandname <your caption>
Overlay label on the story itself, readable against the background, every frame of the promotion.
AD — Paid partnership with @brandname
Paste this as the FIRST line of the description; also say “this video is a paid partnership with <brand>” out loud in the first 10 seconds, and enable YouTube's paid-promotion checkbox.
#Ad | Paid partnership with <brand>
ASCI's 2025 addendum: display your qualifications alongside advice-like content. Finance promotions may carry extra SEBI advertising-code requirements beyond disclosure.
#Ad | Paid partnership with @brandname I'm a <SEBI-registered adviser RIA no. XXXX / MBBS, Reg. no. XXXX> — this is general information, not personal advice.
Official sources: ASCI Influencer Guidelines (PDF) · FTC Disclosures 101 for social media influencers
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules evolve — when in doubt, check the official sources above or consult counsel. Last reviewed July 2026.