Chris Harrington Chris Harrington

When Bad Content Happens to Good Brands: Why Ad Placement Still Matters

This post is inspired by my independent study, Conspiracy Theories, Misinformation, Offensive Content, and Ad Adjacency: Impacts on Digital Advertising Effectiveness and Brand Safety.

What happens when a perfectly planned brand advertisement ends up next to a conspiracy theory, hate speech, or worse, sexualized child content on YouTube? If you work in digital media, you probably already know the answer—the Internet notices, a tsunami of social media posts amplifies the issue, and recency shapes a negative brand perception.

Welcome to the modern challenge of brand safety.

We’ve accepted the advantages of digital media, from precise targeting, real-time optimization, to greater scale. But there’s a growing tradeoff – in today’s chaos of a media ecosystem, an ad’s effectiveness is predicated on placement.

In digital advertising, context has merit. Contextually rich environments attract desired consumers, and relevant content strengthens brand perception and association. A strong ad in a weak context may weaken your brand. Research in consumer psychology and recent real-world examples (remember when major brands found their ads on YouTube next to extremist content) tell us that negative adjacency is real and costly.

Whether it’s misinformation, hate speech, or offensive jokes, if your ad is nearby, many consumers who do not understand the media ecosystem will assume you chose to be there – or worse, that you endorse it.

Renee DiResta put it bluntly: in the age of computational propaganda, falsehoods spread fast – and platforms profit off them. As marketers, we’re often caught in the algorithmic crossfire. Your brand’s ad may appear alongside a trending video that’s racking up views…because it’s packed with disinformation.

Even if it’s just for a minute, that association becomes years. Gen Z, a demographic cohort with $140B in U.S. spending power, sees right through these low-effort ads, and when brands don't align with their values, they’ll call it out. It may take many quarters for revenue to recover.

Brand safety and suitability is a business strategy, not an arbitrary task. 

One study found that nearly half of consumers would boycott a brand if they saw its ad next to offensive content. Another third said it would directly affect their buying decision. And we’ve seen this play out: from Facebook’s #StopHateForProfit boycott to global brands freezing their social media spend until brand assurance was underscored across these platforms.

Your brand’s reputation is now part of the ad impression. People don’t just see what your ad message – they judge where it shows up. And if that place undermines your values, consumers notice. They talk. They tweet. They walk away. So, if you're not asking, “Is this placement brand-safe?” before you hit launch, you're walking on thin ice.

So What Can You Do?

  • Use inclusion lists. Don’t just block bad sites – proactively target safe ones.

  • Layer in contextual targeting. Avoid toxic categories and Made for Advertising (MFA) sites.

  • Vet influencers carefully. If they go rogue, your brand goes with them.

  • Audit your placements…frequently. Programmatic is not a “set and forget” channel. Review domains and YouTube channels where your ads run.

  • Respond quickly and pause ads when breaking news overtakes media channels. Silence speaks volumes.

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Chris Harrington Chris Harrington

In Response to…Many Things

Over the last couple of decades in digital media, I have experimented with journaling and short-form social posts as an outlet to share what I believe is important for the media industry. In many cases, I have discovered that my thoughts are a direct response to my daily industry observations, thoughts I hear on podcasts, or trends I discover online. My goal is to use this as a place to jot down my responses to many things.

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