Two Quebec families bet on the popularity of their children on social networks and transform them into advertising revenue machines, which raises many questions among experts.
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The Ventura family has accumulated more than 100 million views of YouTube since 2015, while Arthur Arsenault has 97,000 Tiktok subscribers at only 5 years old.
“They do exactly what the consumer protection law wishes to avoid,” denounces Nadia Seraiocco, a teacher at UQAM specializing in social networks.
“Under the pretext of presenting fun content and challenges,” she says, we present consumer products, we encourage young people under 13 to consume. “
The Quebec model
Arthur already masters the art of incarnation: from Tim Hortons to Starbucks via Ashton, each costume tells an advertising story. Photomontage The newspaper / screenshots taken from the @arthuro_show account on Instagram and Tiktok
Little Arthur, which has become viral after the milk of milk in Bye bye 2024sold for cocktail bombs at its beginnings with his kid’s voice: “Here is the right cocktail! For you, we have a promo code. Arsenault family. It gives you 10%. ”
Today, many brands are displayed on his channel “Arthuro Show”, managed by his mother, Audrey. The lady refuses to reveal her surname in an interview.
Her son has been a “member of the Union of Artists since the age of 2,” she says. The fees “are paid by his name, in his bank account”, and “Arthur has been doing his taxes for three years already”.
“It is exactly like a child who chooses to practice a sport,” she says, adding that “there is no financial issue” for her family “in this adventure”.
Videos of the Ventura family combine millions of views with shock titles that attract children to disguised commercial content. Photomontage The newspaper / screenshots taken from the @lafamilleventura account on YouTube
On Youtube and elsewhere, the Ventura family offers playful challenges at 2.5 million subscribers in total. Colorful, the videos are presented as family entertainment, but are full of logos of Nike, McDonald’s, Disney, Amazon and others.
We see Priscilla Brosseau and Emmanuel Ventura give a credit card to their children Ezekiel, Marianna and Madison for 24 hours, offer them 100 gifts in one day, have them transform a trampoline into a video room or make a secret barbie room.
Ventura are represented by an agent in the United States, James Harrison. Neither he nor his agency responded to our multiple requests.
Insufficient protection
Quebec has prohibited advertising for under 13s since 1978, but this protection does not clearly apply to digital platforms, according to families of influencers.
“This is false, slice Pierre Trudel, lawyer at the University of Montreal. Except that the line is vague between family content and advertising directed towards children. ”
“If we do not have the courage to apply the law online, you have to ask questions. »»
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Udem
André H. Caron, a specialist in the role of the media in the lives of young people, observes that “children do not understand the concept of advertising” and that they undergo an “immersion in commercial messages without parental supervision”.
The union of artists notes a legal vacuum, which leaves children influencers without protections comparable to those for children actors. “The biggest difference is the contract,” observes its president, Tania Kontoyanni.
Emerging solutions
YouTube Canada recalls that its platform is “for the 13th and over” and that the identification of paid promotions is required.
“You need a serious update of the law,” pleads Pierre Trudel. Illinois adopted in 2024 protection forcing parents to pay at least 15% of income in a blocked account until the majority of the child.
The OPC confirms that its law applies to the web, but that it lacks means to monitor the thousands of Quebec family accounts. “We would really have to start adjust the rules,” says André H. Caron.
What income do they draw?
The little Arthur and his promotional codes make Jacques Eastwood, pioneer in Quebec influence marketing, think.
“Your child, he did not consent to that. It is impossible. He cannot, ”says the founder of Topic Talents, an agency of content creators – all adults -, who only treats with fortune companies 500 for advertising.
The entrepreneur, who is also an organizer of the Content Fest in Montreal, dissects an unknown phenomenon: the profitability of young and old on social networks.
“In 2024, according to Statista, $ 578 million was spent in Canada in brand deals With the creators, ”he assures, about these budgets formerly intended for radio-tested.
Find your niche
With their 2.5 million subscribers, the Ventura are in a position to touch their share of this cake thanks to the logos of Nike, McDonald’s and PlayStation. But subscribers are not proof of everything.
“I know creators with 15,000 followers who make $ 200,000 per year and influencers to one million followers without income,” said Topic Talents.
In 2024, the UCLA Entertainment Law Review established that videos with children under the age of 13 received up to three times more views than the others.
The important thing for a creator, underlines Jacques Eastwood is to find his niche. And children constitute a gold niche: guaranteed viral content, captive audience, parents ready to spend.
Multiple income
Income sources are combined: product investments (Nike, McDonald’s), promotional codes, partnerships with brands, advertising revenue from Youtube.
“We cannot let our children watch youtube unattended. They are indoctrinating, they adopt ways, cultures, expressions never said at home, ”recognizes Mr. Eastwood, who is the father of five children.
What the law says or not
- Quebec law: Prohibited advertising for under 13s since 1978, applicable to the web, according to experts;
- Platforms: YouTube officially reserved for 13 years and over;
- Gray areas: Family content and disguised advertising are difficult to decide between;
- Protection elsewhere: Illinois demands 15% of the trust income, France supervises influencer children.
