Mars halts YouTube spend (again) after Starburst ad appears on drill rap video

Mars has pulled the plug on YouTube advertising after one of the ads for its Starburst brand was shown together with a drill rap music video by Moscow17, a drill rap music group, multiple media reported. Drill is a genre of music which tends to be known for its violent, dark or nihilistic lyrical content.In a statement to Marketing, a spokesperson for Mars said that it is unacceptable and disappointing to see one its brand being advertised along this video content. The statement added that this “clearly breaches” its brand safety guidelines. As such, the company has removed all its online advertising on YouTube, and is currently working with Google and Mars' media buying agencies to understand what went wrong."Until we have confidence that appropriate safeguards are in place, we will not advertise on YouTube," the spokesperson added.Meanwhile, in an interview with Marketing in June this year, Andrew Clarke, global CMO of of Mars said that if a decision needs to be made on brand safety, the company generally does so on a global scale across markets swiftly. Speaking about Mars return to advertising on YouTube in March this year after an exit in November 2017, after its ads were found running on videos of children which are being targeted and exploited, Clarke said that brand safety is of utmost concern for the organisation and the pull then wasn't an easy one.“It isn’t easy for [Google] either and they have been working quite hard at it,” he said, adding that the company has been in the “inner circle” with the folks at Google to eradicate the issue.“We know it is an industry issue and we all have responsibilities. We all want these platforms to be good for society. But at the same time, there is a line as well, where we have to think of our brands. So we had a very constructive conversation with them [prior to the brand's return in March],” he said adding that:There's always a degree of risk of course."The important aspect I want to stress here is very much the partnership, so we know this is difficult. Its an industry issue and we have a responsibility to work with the partners to find solutions,” he said. Currently, Mars is in the midst of a media agency review, with plans to consolidate its media duties. It works with MediaCom for global media planning, while some local markets are being handled by Starcom, MediaCom and OMD.“We are actively working with the Metropolitan Police to review videos that may be connected with this incident. Along with others in the UK, we share the deep concern about this issue and do not want our platform used to incite violence,” a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement to Marketing. Earlier this year, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick singled out drill music and several videos as reasons for increase in murder and violence in London and YouTube pulled around 30 music videos which glamourised violence.Despite YouTube's attempt to eradicate such issues by ramping up its efforts to keep its platform safe for brands, the latest news puts a dampener on its progress. Just this year, Google said it was working with companies that are MRC-accredited for ad verification and will begin integrating these technologies shortly. Google and YouTube said they were actively making changes to: Ad policies, Enforcement of these policies and new controls for advertisers.It also promised to take a tougher stance on hateful, offensive and derogatory content. Closer to home, YouTube took down the channel of Amos Yee, a controversial Singapore blogger and content creator. This was after the US Toy Association pulled its ads from YouTube when one of its campaigns was found on Yee’s channel, BBC reported.The changes led to P&G returning to the platform  after staying away for one year. P&G’s return also saw the brand being more selective this time around, only advertising on videos which it has reviewed and approved.(Read also: Has YouTube become a breeding ground for sensational content?)