YouTube: where influencers ‘selling out’ is cause for celebration – just look at Logan Paul and The Try Guys
- Even when watching an entertaining YouTube video nowadays it can feel as if you are also watching an infomercial for its creator
- But Gen Z influencers see things like sponsorships as a source of legitimacy rather than selling out, and their fans view it as a mark of success
The Try Guys are playing Jenga Truth or Dare dressed in animal onesies and having a great time for their six million YouTube fans. On the surface it’s a typical video from the charming online foursome, who originally gained a following on BuzzFeed for such videos as “The Try Guys take a lie-detector test” or “The Try Guys bake bread without a recipe”. After leaving BuzzFeed they started a production company, which meant figuring out the revenue part all on their own.
The Jenga video is not sponsored, but The Try Guys are selling something: the “truth” questions, pasted on giant Jenga pieces, all come from fans who donate to their account on Patreon, a fundraising website. They flash the link on screen so you, too, can become a paying member. (Maybe, for a future video, you’ll get to ask them questions, too!)
And then there’s the merch. Underneath their onesies, The Try Guys are wearing their limited-edition tour T-shirts and hoodies (shows coming up in Australia!). These are revealed on a “dare” as one of the Jenga pieces conveniently commands two of them to partially strip down and switch outfits.
The video ends, but the selling continues. The ending image of the video announces that The Try Guys are running a sale – 20 per cent off – on the merch in their store. Click on the video’s description, and you’re asked to listen to their podcast and buy their book.
If you don’t watch any YouTube videos, all this might seem like a bait-and-switch: clicking on a video that promises entertaining content turns out to be a series of product pitches. But the lines between ad and content have blurred so much in places like YouTube that the distinction effectively no longer exists.