Technical Difficulties: Audiences should analyze support of influencers marketing reckless content
(Helen Sanders/Daily Bruin)
By Martin Sevcik
Nov. 20, 2024 9:12 p.m.
Marques Brownlee is on the fast track to cashing out his goodwill – and so are many of his peers.
Brownlee is a classy, confident YouTuber who has developed sway in the tech world after 15 years of posting product reviews and commentary videos to his self-titled channel, which sits just below 20 million subscribers. He won “Creator of the Decade” at the 2018 Shorty Awards – something arguably akin to the Oscars for the internet – and his occasionally-scathing reviews have been known to make or break products.
Then he posted a video of himself driving 95 miles per hour in a school zone to internet uproar. Somehow, that was not even the most egregious part of the upload.
Brownlee’s Nov. 11 video “How My Video Gear is Changing!” was not an honest look into his video equipment, but instead a nine-minute sponsored advertisement for an action camera. He dropped his contemplative, critical approach and instead boasted about the camera’s features, devising absurd use cases and action shots for the video. Among them is some driving footage, including the now-infamous clip of him slamming down the gas in a 35 mile per hour zone, which he has since edited out of the video.
As Brownlee catches flak for his reckless behavior, his more calculated move – cashing in his goodwill for a presumably-large paycheck from the sponsor – is not making headlines. But as damning as Brownlee’s potential felony appears, much more can be learned about Brownlee and the creator ecosystem from the sponsored video surrounding it.
In many ways, Brownlee’s career has followed the expected trajectory for someone with his cachet. He has built a brand – a podcast, a car channel, a behind-the-scenes channel and much more – and has become a face for something he cannot possibly manage by himself. He is the basis for dozens of products and promotions, ranging from channel-themed hoodies and a pair of sleek Atoms shoes to a spot on the board of prolific YouTube sponsor and wallet company Ridge.
His brand, as is the case for so many eponymous YouTubers, is authenticity. In exchange for your attention, Brownlee offers informed, honest thoughts about the latest technology, delivering consumers a valuable perspective on whether a new product is worth their time. This is the commodity he trades with – without that integrity, he would not have millions of views on his videos, lucrative brand deals nor millions of dollars in his pockets.
In this context, the reckless driving, while cringe-inducingly unnecessary and reckless, is arguably less damaging to his brand than the entire video’s concept. With this most recent video-length ad disguised as a typical upload, he is making a bet that the hit to his integrity – the newfound knowledge that he can be bought by tech companies – is worth less than whatever amount of money he was paid to shill.
Brownlee may be the most influential name in the tech review space. He apparently sees that title as an entitlement to make money and deals, not a responsibility to his audience. He is not alone.
Millionaire YouTubers Logan Paul, MrBeast and KSI are all facing accusations of independent cryptocurrency pump-and-dump schemes, using their attention-grabbing status to sell tokens just as their audience buys in. Kick streamer and gamer Adin Ross earned $4 million per month in casino sponsorships in 2023 to play slots on stream. And science education giant Kurzgesagt has been accused of misconstruing evidence and information to present arguments that benefit its sponsors, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Yet in many of these cases, other controversies overshadow these fundamental concerns about how these influencers use these platforms. The crypto bro trio are now embroiled in a controversy regarding their Lunchables knock off, with Paul’s declaration that he loves “drippy cheese” overshadowing the group’s potential and sometimes serial pump-and-dumps. And Ross is best known for stunts like gifting Donald Trump a MAGA-themed Cybertruck, rather than his regular promotion of gambling to his young audience.
Audiences are a responsibility, not merely a privilege. Brownlee is not nearly as egregious as some of his peers in abusing that attention and influence for financial gain, but this most recent video highlights an emerging dynamic that must be addressed. Flash-in-the-pan controversies, such as the school zone fiasco, overshadow more fundamental problems about the YouTubers’ messaging and misuse of influence. Those underlying habits – the content their audiences are most exposed to – are just as important to dissect as individual cases of bad behavior.
Brownlee should be held to account for his reckless driving, but that will not change the future of his channel, nor how much his audience can trust his tech reviews. Instead, audiences should note how his most recent sponsor managed to find a price with Brownlee being willing to sell his commentary for a video-length ad. What does that mean for the future of his channel, built upon informed and unbiased commentary?
As YouTubers speed up to take advantage of their reputation, audiences need to slow down and consider whether they still deserve their attention.
