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Display & Video 360 users must comply with this Google Ads policy. Visit the Display & Video 360 help centre for additional restrictions.
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Policies for advertisers
Advertisers must comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
Advertisers may not run personalised ads, make use of any third-party trackers or otherwise attempt to collect personal information from minors or on content set as Made for Kids.
Advertising that is intended for children or is on content set as Made for Kids must not be deceptive, unfair or inappropriate for its intended audience. This includes:
Incitement to purchase: Paid ads must not incite children to purchase a product or urge parents or others to buy the item.
Misleading and deceptive claims
- Paid ads must not be misleading to children or make any deceptive or unsubstantiated claims. All claims and assertions need to be substantiated within the video itself.
- Paid ads must not imply that the product will improve your social status.
- Paid ads must not include features or calls to action that do not work or where the desired action can’t be completed.
Restricted categories and prohibited content
The following ad categories and content are restricted for advertising on made for kids content:
| Category | Content examples |
|---|---|
| 18+ Interests | Examples (non-exhaustive) |
| Alcohol/tobacco/recreational drugs | Products such as alcohol, tobacco and recreational drugs that are regulated or illegal to advertise to children. This also includes prohibited content and restricted content. In addition, products that are strongly related to alcohol, tobacco or recreational drugs are prohibited (for example, offers for vineyard tours, e-cigarettes or drug paraphernalia). |
| Gambling and casino games | Ads for online or real-world gambling, lotteries or betting; entertainment hosted at casinos and lodging at casino hotels; and games strongly associated with casinos and betting (even if there isn't real money at stake) or guides on how to succeed at such games. |
| Age-sensitive media | Examples (non-exhaustive) |
| Teen and adult media | Ads for films, TV shows and console games that are sensitive to show to children. |
| Dangerous | Examples (non-exhaustive) |
| Dangerous content | Ads for products or services that are dangerous and inappropriate for children or that generally require adult supervision, such as paintball, airsoft, ax-throwing, spray paint, glass-etching substances or graffiti products, fireworks, weapons or weapon accessories, offers related to hunting, etc. |
| Financial | Examples (non-exhaustive) |
| Speculative financial products | Contracts for difference, rolling spot forex, financial spread betting and synonymous products. |
| Health and beauty | Examples (non-exhaustive) |
| Beauty and cosmetics | Cosmetics and other products related to external personal care focused on body image. |
| Body modification and weight loss | Ads for body modification products or services such as cosmetic procedures, weight loss, tanning, piercings and tattoos. |
| Food and drink | Products related to consumable food and drinks, regardless of nutritional content. |
| Health and wellness | Offers related to healthcare and medical issues of all kinds, including reproductive health, substance abuse or recovery, eating disorders, 'miracle cures' and health insurance. |
| Pharmaceuticals and supplements | Ads for pharmaceuticals or medications, vitamins and nutritional supplements. |
| Privacy/safety/gimmicks | Examples (non-exhaustive) |
| Competitions and sweepstakes | Competitions or sweepstakes promotions, even if free to enter. |
| Mobile subscriptions | Offers that require the user to enter their mobile phone number to access content or subscribe to a service. |
| Social networks | Offers for social networks that allow users to connect with friends and others online. |
| Spying and arrest records | Offers for services that imply they will help spy on a partner, or find non-shared personal information about a third party. Also included are services that perform public records searches for arrest records. |
| Quizzes | Personality quizzes that require entering personal information like an email address or phone number to access results. |
| Video game skins/loot boxes | Ads that sell or promote the trading of video game skins or loot boxes. |
| Virtual worlds and chat rooms intended for adults | Offers for platforms or services intended for adults that primarily exist to allow users to connect and communicate with strangers. |
| Sensitive and controversial | Examples (non-exhaustive) |
| Astrology/occult/paranormal | Ads for content relating to astrology, the occult or the paranormal. |
| Politics/religion/sensitive social issues | Ads related to politics, religion or other sensitive or controversial social issues. |
| Sexual and romantic | Examples (non-exhaustive) |
| Adult and sexually suggestive content | Sexual and mature content that is intended for adult audiences. |
| Dating and relationships | Ads for dating services, matchmakers, relationship advice or counselling. |
| Romantic content | Ads for fictional material, including games, books, or comics, that fall in the romance genre or include kissing elements. |
| Significant skin exposure | Ads featuring adults with bare skin exposure near the breasts, buttocks or groin, such as swimwear or underwear modelling. |
| Violent, scary or crude | Examples (non-exhaustive) |
| Fight sports/martial arts | Offers related to boxing, wrestling, martial arts, self-defence training, etc. |
| First-person shooters and battle games | Games where the player has a first-person perspective and shoots at other characters and games that involve controlling armies or fighters in battles or in combat. |
| Shocking or scary content | Violent, gruesome, graphic, obscene, profane and other content that could shock or scare. This includes gory and non-gory realistic violence; references to death, disaster or abuse; crude or vulgar humour; and scary gross, odd or unsettling imagery (zombies, skeletons, masks, scary clowns, blood, etc.). |