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While all ads must comply with our advertising policies, this article outlines the additional requirements your ad assets must meet in order for your campaigns to serve on YouTube.
Prohibited categories
Exaggerated or inaccurate claims
Assets that contain exaggerated or false claims for a product or a service or to mislead users
Examples:
- False claims related to money or overnight success (for example, ads that tell people how to get rich in a short time frame)
- False or exaggerated claims around curing diseases
Offensive language
Assets that use inappropriate or offensive language
Example:
- Assets containing obscene or offensive language, which may offend users
- Derogatory language that incites hatred against, promotes discrimination of, or disparages an individual or group that is associated with systemic discrimination
Negative events and imagery
Assets that include mentally-distressing, disturbing, repulsive, or gross content; or scary content related to injuries, death, and decay
Examples:
- Dangerous actions that could potentially result in bodily harm or encourages imitation of the action, such as dangerous challenges
- Dramatized or animated content that is excessively gory or realistic
- Funerals that show people weeping, mourning, or screaming
- Videos designed to scare you intentionally or that contain footage of distressing accidents or natural disasters (enforcement applies to simulated or real content)
Allowed with limitations
- Content such as movies, TV shows, news channels, and video games are permitted in ads, but should avoid showing gory content
Improper content
Assets that focus on specific body parts or health conditions
Examples:
- Medical or dental surgery procedures that show blood, guts, gore, bodily fluids, or tooth decay
- Emphasizing body parts (for example, zooming in on belly fat)
- Showing bodily symptoms (for example, fluids or rashes)
Assets with nudity, or that include racy or sexually suggestive topics
Examples:
- Adult content promotions where the majority of the ad is focused on nudity or sexual topics
- Ads that promote dating using sexually-explicit imagery or language
Allowed with limitations
- Ads for weight loss, hair loss, skin conditions, and other health conditions are allowed as long as the imagery isn’t disturbing
- Promotion of products like swimwear or spa treatments are permitted as long as the content is not overtly sexualized
YouTube masthead content requirements
YouTube masthead ads are the ads that YouTube users see at the top of the YouTube homepage. This type of ad is the most prominent Google advertising placement available to advertisers. To ensure that we provide a high-quality consumer ad experience, YouTube masthead ads must comply with all Google Ads policies and YouTube ad requirements. We will review each YouTube masthead ad asset for compliance with the YouTube masthead ad content requirements listed below, which apply in addition to the Google Ads policies and YouTube ad requirements. The YouTube masthead ad content requirements may be more restrictive than the ad requirements for other platforms and surfaces, meaning disapproved YouTube masthead ad assets may continue to run on Google’s other owned and operated properties.
Prohibited categories
Gambling
Assets that depict or reference gambling-related content, including offline gambling, online gambling, online non-casino games, and social casino games.
Exception: Assets related to sports betting in the United States are allowed, provided they meet the requirements set out in the Gambling and games policy.
Elections and political content
Assets related to elections or politics