Do I really have to write #ad on every sponsored post?

You need a clear and conspicuous disclosure whenever you have a material connection to the brand, which includes paid posts, affiliate links, and even free products you were sent. #ad is the simplest way to do it, placed where viewers will actually see it, before they have to click 'more.' Vague tags like #sp, #collab, #partner, or #thanksbrand are not enough because the FTC says a significant minority of ordinary viewers would not understand them. In video, the disclosure should also be on screen and, ideally, spoken. This is general education, not legal advice; talk to an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction about your situation.

Can I get in trouble even if the brand never told me to disclose?

Yes. Under the FTC's Endorsement Guides, the influencer can be held responsible for their own undisclosed posts, and the brand can be liable for an endorser's failure to disclose even if the brand never instructed the influencer to leave it out. Disclosure is your personal responsibility as the person speaking to your audience. The Federal Trade Commission has sent warning letters and pursued enforcement against both companies and creators.

Who owns the photos and videos I create for a brand deal?

It depends entirely on the contract. By default, the creator owns the copyright in content they make. Many brand agreements flip that with a 'work made for hire' clause or an assignment, giving the brand full ownership, while others grant the brand only a license to use the content. Read who owns what, how long the brand can use it, on which platforms, and whether the brand can run it as paid ads. An attorney licensed in your jurisdiction can review the terms before you sign.

Influencer Brand Deals & FTC Disclosure Rules

Plain-English guide to influencer FTC disclosure brand deals: when to say #ad, the 2023 Endorsement Guides, who's liable, plus content ownership and usage rights.

Quick answer: If you have a material connection to a brand, such as payment, free product, or an affiliate cut, U.S. law requires a clear and conspicuous disclosure like #ad in every endorsing post. The FTC's 2023 Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255) make both the brand and the creator potentially liable, and a platform's built-in "paid partnership" label is not enough on its own. Separately, the brand-deal contract controls the intellectual property: who owns the content, how the brand may use it, exclusivity, your right of publicity, and any music or clips you include.

A good brand deal is two agreements layered on top of each other. One is with the public: the law says you must tell your audience when a post is an ad. The other is with the company: a contract that quietly decides who owns the videos you shoot, how long the brand can run them, and whether your face can show up in a paid commercial next year. Creators tend to obsess over the rate and ignore both. This guide walks through the FTC disclosure rules and the intellectual-property side of brand deals in plain English. For the bigger picture, see our entertainment and media IP pillar guide.

The FTC disclosure rules in plain English

The Federal Trade Commission polices advertising in the United States, and it treats a sponsored post the same way it treats a TV commercial: viewers are entitled to know when someone is being paid to recommend something. The core rules live in the Endorsement Guides, codified at 16 CFR Part 255, which the FTC overhauled in 2023, the first major update since 2009, before TikTok and Instagram existed.

Three ideas do most of the work:

Material connection. If you have any financial or other relationship with the brand that your audience would not expect, you have to disclose it. That covers obvious paid partnerships, but also affiliate links and commissions, free products or “gifting,” discounts, contest entries, and even an employee posting about their own employer. The 2023 update says disclosure is needed whenever a “significant minority” of the audience would not already understand the connection, and a footnote suggests 10% or even less of an audience can count as significant.
Clear and conspicuous. The disclosure must be, in the FTC’s words, “difficult to miss (i.e., easily noticeable) and easily understandable by ordinary consumers.” Put it up front, not buried in a wall of hashtags or hidden behind a “more” link. In a video, it should appear on screen and stay long enough to read, and ideally be said out loud, because the disclosure should travel in the same medium as the endorsement.
Use plain words. #ad or “paid partnership with [brand]” work. Vague or insider terms like #sp, #collab, #partner, #ambassador, or #thanksbrand generally do not, because ordinary viewers do not reliably read them as “this is an advertisement.”

Platform tools are not a free pass

Instagram’s and TikTok’s built-in “Paid Partnership” labels are helpful, but the FTC has been clear they are not sufficient on their own. The agency looks at what the audience actually sees and understands, not what a platform technically allows. A native label can supplement your own disclosure; it does not replace it. The safest habit is your own #ad or spoken disclosure plus the platform tool.

Who is liable: brand and creator both

A common myth is that disclosure is the brand’s job, so the creator is off the hook. The 2023 Guides say the opposite. Both sides can be on the line.

The influencer is responsible for their own posts. You are the person speaking directly to your audience, so an undisclosed endorsement is your problem even if no one told you to hide it. The brand can be held liable for an endorser’s failure to disclose a material connection, even if the brand never instructed the influencer to omit it. That is why sophisticated brands now require disclosure in their contracts and monitor for compliance, and it is why agencies and intermediaries can be swept in too.

This is not theoretical. After the 2023 update, the FTC sent warning letters to trade associations and a dozen health influencers over inadequate disclosures in social posts promoting sweeteners and sugar. The agency’s toolkit ranges from warning letters to enforcement actions and orders. The practical takeaway: disclosure is cheap insurance, and skipping it exposes everyone in the chain.

The IP side of brand-deal contracts

Disclosure law protects your audience. The contract protects (or fails to protect) you. Most influencer disputes are not about the FTC at all; they are about intellectual property buried in a deal memo. Watch these clauses.

Content ownership

By default under U.S. copyright law, the creator who makes a photo or video owns the copyright in it. Brand contracts frequently reverse that. A “work made for hire” clause or an assignment transfers full ownership to the brand, meaning you may not be able to repost your own content or reuse the concept. If you would rather keep ownership, the alternative is to grant the brand a license instead, a permission to use the content while you remain the owner. Know which one you are signing. For more on how copyright transfers work, see our guide on licensing your creative work.

Usage rights and the license terms

If you are licensing rather than assigning, the scope of the license is everything. Pin down:

Where the content can run (the creator’s own feed only, the brand’s owned channels, third-party sites, billboards).
How long the brand may use it. “In perpetuity” means forever; a 6- or 12-month term protects your future leverage.
Whether it can be used in paid ads (“whitelisting” or “boosting”), which is far more valuable to the brand than an organic post and should be priced and time-limited accordingly.
Exclusivity and category restrictions. An exclusivity clause can bar you from working with competitors for a set period. Make sure the competitor category and the time window are narrow and clearly defined, or you may quietly lock yourself out of a whole industry.

Your right of publicity

A brand deal is also a license of your identity, your name, face, and voice used to sell something. That is your right of publicity, and the contract is what grants the brand permission to use it. Watch for language that lets the brand use your likeness beyond the campaign, in new products, or after the term ends. The same right is what lets you push back if a brand keeps running your face in ads after the deal is over. We cover this in depth in our guide to the right of publicity in California, and you can browse related material under publicity.

Music, clips, and other people’s IP

The fastest way to turn a sponsored post into a legal problem is the soundtrack. A platform’s in-app music library is generally licensed for personal, non-commercial use, not for a paid advertisement. Dropping a trending song into an #ad can infringe both the composition and the sound recording, and brands increasingly require creators to use cleared or licensed music for sponsored content. The same caution applies to clips of movies or TV, other people’s photos, and recognizable logos or art in the background. If a post is an ad, treat the music like any other ad would: clear it. Our guide to music licensing (sync and master) explains the two licenses you typically need.

A creator’s quick checklist

Before you post a brand deal, run through this:

Disclose every time. Put #ad or “paid partnership with [brand]” near the top, where viewers see it before clicking “more.” Add an on-screen and spoken disclosure in video.
Skip the vague tags. #sp, #collab, #partner, and #thanksbrand do not satisfy the rules on their own.
Disclose for free product too, not just cash. Gifting is a material connection.
Do not rely only on the platform label. Use it in addition to, not instead of, your own disclosure.
Read the ownership clause. Know whether you are assigning copyright or licensing it, and whether “work made for hire” appears.
Check the license scope: platforms, term length, paid-ad/whitelisting rights, and exclusivity.
Protect your likeness. Limit how and how long the brand can use your name, face, and voice.
Clear your music and clips for commercial use; the in-app library usually is not enough for an ad.
Get it in writing, and have an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction review anything you do not understand.

The bottom line

Two rulebooks govern every brand deal. The FTC’s Endorsement Guides require a clear, conspicuous disclosure like #ad whenever you have a material connection to a brand, and they put both the creator and the brand at risk if you skip it; a platform’s “paid partnership” tag is not enough by itself. The contract then decides the intellectual property: who owns the content, how the brand may use it, exclusivity, your right of publicity, and the music and clips you include. Get the disclosure right to protect your audience and yourself, and read the IP terms to protect your work.

This guide is general educational information about U.S. advertising and intellectual property law, not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. The FTC’s Endorsement Guides and IP rules apply to specific facts in specific ways. For guidance on your own brand deals or disclosures, consult an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.