What Roblox’s new ad policies mean for brands

Roblox updated its rule book with a slew of new advertising guidelines, including an explicit reinstatement of its ban on allowing developers from advertising to users under the age of 13. The changes, which provide further clarity on how exactly an ad must be disclosed, as well as prohibitions on specific types of ads, such as those related to cryptocurrency and online dating services, may impede brands’ efforts to reach audiences on the Gen Z-favorite virtual platform.

For brands looking to reach preteens, for example, the reinstatement of the ban on advertising to this demographic calls these efforts into question.

Paramount has plans to launch Roblox worlds tied to Spongebob Squarepants and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles—which are both tied to children’s programming— that may include content considered advertising. In these cases, Roblox says that developers must use a special API tool called PolicyService to hide such content.

Developers who are confused as to what Roblox deems advertising should consider questions such as, “Does the content promote demand for a product or service available outside the experience where the content is placed?” or “Does the content promote attributes of a product or service, either expressly or implicitly (e.g., quality, price, features, performance, attributes, or benefits)?” Other questions can be found on Roblox’s developer forum. Information on transparency can be found in the platform's newly introduced Advertising Standards.

“Our Advertising Standards provide a transparent experience for our community, advertisers, and ad publishers which builds on our foundation of safety and civility while still creating opportunities for our community to innovate, engage and earn,” a Roblox spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement.

Roblox also added clearer guidelines on how gamers should identify what is sponsored content. Developers must use “simple and understandable language” to indicate an ad, such as “ad”, “paid” or “sponsored.” Merely referencing the name of an advertiser is no longer enough.

Numerous brands could be in violation of these new rules, as pointed out by the watchdog organization Truth in Advertising (TINA). Netflix, for example, launched a “Stranger Things” experience on Roblox whose only indicator that it was a sponsored game was the statement, “By Netflix.” Nike’s popular world, “Nikeland,” which has been visited millions of times, also displays inadequate disclosures, according to TINA. Netflix declined to comment, and Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

One brand that has activated on Roblox said on background that its temporary experience last year was based on a previous policy of the platform.

More broadly, Roblox's new Advertising Standards provide guidelines on how advertisers should appear on the platform. This new section in Roblox’s rule book outlines advertiser and publisher integrity, such as more details on ad transparency, as well as prohibited advertising content. Cryptocurrency and NFTs, for example, cannot be promoted, nor can multi-level marketing organizations, financial services, online dating services, politics and more. Many of these types of content were not previously outlined as prohibited in Roblox’s rule book.

Clarification is also provided on how marketers should work with Roblox’s new Immersive Ad units, which the platform rolled out last September. For example, portal ads transport users to other Roblox experiences, but these portals cannot mislead users about that destination, the platform states.

Roblox’s policy updates follow a joint complaint filed last August by the FTC and TINA, which accused Roblox of deceptive marketing. One of the primary accusations was around advertising to children, which the complaint alleged Roblox was still allowing despite its community standards. According to TINA, Roblox then removed its written statement that users under 13 could not be served advertising content. TINA provided a before and after of the alleged removal, although no dates were provided on the screenshots.

Roblox has become a go-to platform for brands to connect with younger audiences, having previously seen branded experiences from iHeartMedia, Walmart and Forever 21, among others. Roblox is also one of the more popular proto-metaverse destinations, offering users the ability to build virtual worlds, create virtual identities and participate in a digital economy. The platform reported 56 million daily users for 2022, up 23% from a year earlier.