Celebrities have paid up to £1m to promote deodorant on social media.

Katie Howell, director of marketing agency Retinic Social, said paid ads “don’t necessarily ruin a recommendation, but they do change the context in which a recommendation should be understood, and the audience has a right to know that.”

“The real test is whether the creator uses the product properly, whether they can express content while maintaining enough editorial freedom, and whether the partnership is consistent with the relationship they’ve built with their audience,” she added.

Bowes-Lyon says audiences are increasingly aware that influencer ads are paid for, making authenticity even more important.

“People are getting a little more savvy and if, for example, a gaming influencer starts talking about a flower shop or something unrelated to what they do, people will see that,” he said.

He added that someone like Stacey Solomon, a television personality, has built her influence by being selective about what she advertises.

“I think Stacy will reject 98% of the votes that come her way.”

The Wild with Salomon campaign featured over 100 paid ad iterations for social media, each creating unique sales pitches that appealed to different audiences.

The latest ASA research, External Influencer advertising has proven to be very difficult to distinguish from conventional brand advertising.

In the experiment, 74% of participants were convinced it was a typical brand ad, compared to only 54% for an influencer ad.

Bowes-Lyon says the influencers she works with “not only believe in what they’re saying, but because they get a paycheck.”

The brand points to its partnership with Molly-Mae Hague, who took a wild shower in a video before approaching her.

“We weren’t talking to her and she was using our bodies in the wash, so we got there.”

“Many people understand that influencers are paid, but they underestimate the scale and complexity of the economy,” Howell said.

“Most famous creators aren’t just individuals posting from their bedrooms. Many operate like complex media businesses, with managers, agents, production teams, legal advice, licensing arrangements and multiple revenue streams.”

While ads on social media should be clearly labeled, Howell says more needs to be done to make paid marketing more transparent, as #ads are “legally valid but informationally thin.”