Welcome to Our SuperAwesome Ad Standards

SuperAwesome’s core mission is powering a better internet for the next generation. We aim to ensure that we only serve Ads and provide advertising services that support this mission and provide a safe and positive experience for audiences and publishers alike.

SuperAwesome aligns its approach to advertising with UNICEF’s child rights–based guidance for responsible marketing as it applies to advertising directed to children and teens (under 18). These Ad Standards are designed to promote age-appropriate and transparent advertising experiences for children and teens.

SuperAwesome supports responsible advertising to children and teens. Our approach recognizes that different age groups have different levels of maturity, understanding, and vulnerability, and that advertising standards must be applied in an age-appropriate, proportionate way.

We have developed these SuperAwesome Ad Standards to provide guidance on the types of Ads we accept. By Ads we mean all types of paid promotional campaigns, including digital display, video, and interactive; social video; influencer marketing; in-game activations; and audio advertising in podcasts.

These Ad Standards apply to advertising served by SuperAwesome where the intended audience includes children or teens, or where Ads are delivered in environments primarily designed for youth audiences.

While we strive to maintain the SuperAwesome Ad Standards in compliance with advertising regulations in the US and UK, they are not intended as legal advice. Advertisers are responsible for ensuring that Ads (including those directed to parents) comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and industry standards in each location in which their Ads will be seen – including those specifically designed to protect children and teens.

All display and video Ads served by us through our AwesomeAds Marketplace carry our SAFE AD watermark, which tells users and their parents that the Ads have been human-reviewed against these SuperAwesome Ad Standards, and that they are served on a contextual basis only (no behavioral targeting, tracking cookies or user profiling), consistent with the requirements of COPPA and GDPR-K.

Our SuperAwesome Ad Standards are organized into two sections:

Product and Service Standards – information about the categories of products and services for which we do not accept Ads.
Content Standards – guidance to ensure that the content of Ad creatives is age-appropriate and in line with SuperAwesome’s core mission.

Product and Service Standards

SuperAwesome’s advertising services are designed to support responsible advertising to youth audiences, including teens. Some product and service categories are prohibited across all youth advertising.

Other categories may be restricted, meaning they may be permitted for teen or adult audiences where allowed by platform rules and applicable law, subject to additional safeguards and content requirements.

We may also restrict the way certain products and services are advertised depending on the intended age group, platform, and context of delivery.

These restrictions are detailed by category as follows:

Adult products, services, and entertainment

Ads must not promote mature or sexual products, services, and/or entertainment.

This also extends to dating or relationship products and/or services.

Alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and unsafe substances

Ads must not promote alcoholic beverages (including drinks marketed as alcohol-free alternatives or marketed as mixers for alcoholic drinks), tobacco products, nicotine products, and related smoking paraphernalia (including e-cigarettes, vaping or any other products that imitate or are perceived as an alternative to smoking), recreational drugs (including cannabis), drug dispensaries, or depictions of any unsafe substances.

Cosmetics and personal care

Ads for cosmetics, personal care and other similar products are permitted where allowed by platform rules and applicable law, subject to the following conditions: (i) the Ad must target only the age demographics consistent with any product labeling or disclosures; (ii) the Ad must not mislead consumers as to the benefits of the product or service; and (iii) Ads aimed at under-13s must not focus on improving, enhancing, or altering personal appearance.

Ads for surgical and non-surgical cosmetic interventions and Ads related to body procedures and modifications (such as piercings and tattoos) are prohibited across all youth audiences.

Dangerous products, services, and activities

Ads must not promote products, services or activities which are age restricted and/or dangerous, or that generally require adult supervision, such as fireworks, flammables, weapons and ammunition (including paintballs), knives and similar bladed or sharp products.

This includes Ads that promote real-world violence, and some Ads that promote extreme contact sports.

Entertainment-related restrictions

Ads for movies, TV shows, video games and other similar media and entertainment services must target the age demographic aligned to their rating, which must be disclosed to SuperAwesome on submission.

Financial products and services

With the exception of financial products and services intended specifically for children or teens (such as kids’ or teen prepaid debit cards), Ads must not promote financial products and services that are not meant for them, such as loans, credit cards, or insurance services.

This extends to financial trading, the promotion of cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and related exchanges.

Advertising for financial products or services directed to adults may be permitted in certain co-viewing environments, provided that such advertising is clearly intended for adult audiences, does not encourage engagement by children or teens, and is delivered in an age-appropriate manner consistent with these Ad Standards.

Food and drink restrictions

SuperAwesome supports healthy and responsible eating practices for children. Advertisers remain responsible for ensuring that their Ads comply with all local laws, regulations, and standards concerning the advertising of food and drinks for any location their Ads target.

In addition, SuperAwesome upholds the following standards:

In all territories*: We do not accept Ads for food or drink products directed at those under the age of 6. We apply any specific policies operated by third-party platforms on which we serve Ads (such as YouTube) in both letter and spirit. We do not accept Ads for candy or confectionery products that target child audiences.
United Kingdom: We do not accept Ads for food or drink products that are high in fat, salt, or sugar (HFSS) or for brands which are considered synonymous with HFSS currently, as classified by the Department of Health’s Nutrient Profiling Model. We may, at our discretion, make exceptions for public service announcements which feature HFSS purely to educate people about healthy eating and healthy diet choices.
United States: For under-13s, we do not accept Ads for food or drink products that are not either CFBAI-listed or that do not meet the CFBAI’s Uniform Nutrition Criteria.
Europe: For under-13s, we do not accept Ads for food or drink products that do not meet the EU Pledge Nutrition Criteria.
Ads on YouTube, including influencer marketing: In line with YouTube’s own policies, we do not accept any Ads for food and drink products which are aimed at users under the age of 13, regardless of nutritional content.
Caffeine and Energy drinks: We do not accept Ads for coffee-based drinks or for coffee shops, nor for energy drinks that contain caffeine targeting under-13s.

*Where Ads are served on platforms which are inherently global in nature with no ability to geo-target, please speak to your sales representative for further information as SuperAwesome may apply higher standards than those applicable in the primary target territory.

Gambling and related activities

Ads must not promote gambling, lotteries, or betting (whether online or in real life), including sports betting, fantasy sports, games of chance, or any other activity in which participants have a chance to win a prize of value. Ads must not promote gambling regardless of whether money or money’s worth can be won.

Illegal or unethical products and services

Ads must not promote illegal products, services, or activities, such as counterfeit goods, realistic replicas of illegal products (such as guns or weapons), or products and services which facilitate dishonesty (such as fake IDs or tools to illegally access content).

Inappropriate or insensitive products and services

Ads that include sensitive subject matter that may upset or distress young audiences will be assessed for appropriateness for the audience, taking into account the broader context and purpose of the ad, including whether the content is presented in a public interest, educational, or safety-related manner.

Subscription services

Ads must not promote subscription services for products and services that are not specifically intended for the targeted age group, or that involve recurring or auto-renewing payments which young audiences may not reasonably understand.

Ads for subscription services may be permitted for child or teen audiences where:

The service offers child or teen accounts, or is otherwise designed for use by children or teens, and clearly indicates that purchase, activation, or account management is the responsibility of a parent or guardian; and
Pricing, renewal terms, and any auto-renewal features are clearly and prominently disclosed.

Advertising for subscription services directed to parents or caregivers may be permitted in certain co-viewing environments, provided that such advertising is clear that an adult must sign up, does not encourage children or teens to initiate or manage subscriptions, and is delivered in an age-appropriate manner consistent with these Ad Standards.

Politics, religion, and spirituality

Ads must not promote political, cause-related, religious, or spiritual services (such as psychics and mediums), including calls to adopt specific political or religious beliefs or agendas.

Ads for family-friendly content that includes general values-based or faith-related themes may be permitted, provided the Ad creative does not promote adherence to a specific religion, try to persuade someone to follow a religion, or encourage taking part in religious activities.

Content Standards

The safety of the next generation sits at the heart of SuperAwesome’s advertising standards. Extra care must be taken when targeting Ads to youth audiences, as children and teens may differ in experience, maturity, and how they interpret commercial messages. They may also be more sensitive to inappropriate or offensive imagery, so it is important to consider the likely effect the image or language used might have on young audiences.

Where advertising primarily intended for adults is served in environments that may reasonably involve co-viewing, co-listening, or incidental exposure by children, including podcasts, SuperAwesome may apply additional safeguards to reduce the risk of exposing young audiences to content that would be inappropriate for them.

Compliance with each of the Content Standards must be considered with the age of the intended audience in mind, taking into account their experience and cognitive abilities.

In summary, Ad content must not be unsafe or inappropriate, or exploit, mislead, or exert undue pressure on youth audiences. All Ads must:

Be age-appropriate

SuperAwesome’s overarching content standard is that Ads must be wholly appropriate for the intended youth audience, taking into account age, maturity, and context. SuperAwesome will take the intended audience for the campaign into consideration when reviewing Ads against these SuperAwesome Ad Standards.

For example, a toy that is intended for 10-year-olds will not be suitable for advertising to children below this age. Equally, an Ad for a toy that is marketed to 10+ should not particularly appeal to children below this age, for example, through the use of cartoon characters from toddler TV shows.

Generally, Ads must not contain:

Adult, violent, gruesome, or graphic themes or content, or content which is likely to frighten or disturb the intended audience, such as fearsome images, loud, sudden noises intended to shock, or blood and gore.
Swear words, foul language, sexualized imagery or sexually suggestive content, vulgar humor, or content which is profane or offensive.
Shocking, sensational, or potentially distressing content, or content that could incite fear or panic.

Ads must not contain content which indirectly promotes, contains, or in any way references any of the prohibited products and services outlined in the Product and Service Standards, or in any way encourages anything unlawful. For example, Ads must not include imagery of alcohol in the background, encourage users to engage with age-restricted products like lottery tickets or cigarettes, or the taking of illegal substances.

Be clear and honest

It’s vital that the next generation is able to trust Ads. Ads must be clear and must not mislead or deceive, which must be assessed through the eyes of the intended youth audience. This means that:

All Ads must be truthful and accurate, and must not be deceptive or misleading.
Ads must not exaggerate a product’s benefits or set unrealistic expectations. They may highlight the positive aspects of a product, but Ads should not suggest that a young person might be unpopular, inferior, disloyal, or lacking in courage by not owning it.
With respect to Promotions, Ads must not mislead the entrants, exaggerate the value of a prize or the chances of winning it, or cause the entrants’ undue disappointment.
Ads must not exploit a young person’s credulity, loyalty, vulnerability, lack of experience, or susceptibility to commercial pressure. For example, Ads must not exploit a young person’s reduced ability to distinguish between the real and fantastical. For example, an image suggesting a product emits real laser beams.
Ads must not use artificial intelligence or synthetic media in a way that could mislead or confuse young audiences about what is real, who is communicating, or whether content is advertising. Where the use of AI is material to a child’s understanding, disclosure may be required, but disclosure does not cure content that is misleading or developmentally inappropriate.
It must be easy for the intended audience to judge the size, characteristics and performance of the product. For example, it should be clear from the Ad exactly what is included with the initial purchase.
Any endorsements must be genuine and reflect the real experiences and beliefs of the endorser. Any claims made within an endorsement must be capable of being substantiated.
Extra care must be taken to ensure that young audiences recognize that they’re seeing, hearing, or otherwise engaging with an Ad. All our Ads – including influencer videos, in-game activations, audio ads in podcasts – must be clearly labeled as advertising.
Advertisements, apps, or games that allow young audiences to make purchases must make it clear that the purchase involves real currency.

Keep kids and teens safe

Ads should not depict, encourage, nor refer to anything which could result in a young person’s physical or mental harm. Examples below are illustrative and not exhaustive, and risks may present differently depending on the age and context of the intended audience.

For example:

Telling a child that buying a toy, playing a game, or interacting with certain social media content will make them more popular exploits their emotions.
Depicting influencers or peers engaging in unhealthy or risky behaviors in a way that normalizes or glamorizes those behaviors.
Inviting a young person to enter a competition without appropriate disclosure, or—where required—parental guidance, could be exploiting their naivety, which could result in them sharing information without understanding why.

Given the risk of emulation, Ads should not condone or encourage—or show young people participating in—irresponsible or dangerous practices or in hazardous situations.

For example, young people should not be shown:

Close to, or handling, firearms, weapons or other dangerous items.
In situations which may contravene established child safety best practices (such as children in vehicles without their seat belts fastened, cycling without helmets, or performing dangerous stunts that would only be appropriate for a professional).
Without adult supervision in places or situations where they cannot safely look after themselves (such as swimming pools, crossing busy roads, or around dangerous equipment).

Ads should never include young people showing any nudity, and should avoid hypersexualisation or suggestive poses or content, for example, when promoting apparel or accessories.

Be respectful and inclusive

SuperAwesome serves Ads to youth audiences of all races, ethnicities, genders, abilities, religions, and sexual orientations across the world. We want to ensure young audiences feel safe, welcomed, and empowered to be themselves, so Ads must in ALL respects be socially responsible, respectful, and inclusive.

This means:

Ads should encourage positive behavior such as being honest, respectful, careful, and engaging in a well-balanced and healthy lifestyle.
Ads must not discriminate based on race, color, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, family status, or disability. We encourage the use of diverse imagery and appeal within your Ads.
Ads must not otherwise promote hatred or intolerance, or include content that encourages or depicts intimidation or bullying.
Ads must not undermine body positivity or cause young audiences to feel negative about how they look. Imagery must not reinforce stereotypical ideals of what “perfect” looks like, or suggest that body image has any part to play in popularity, desirability, or happiness.

Ads must not only be respectful towards young audiences, but also towards their parents or legal guardians. For example:

Ads must not actively encourage young audiences to make a nuisance of themselves to parents/legal guardians, or undermine parental authority. For example, ‘playing [product] is more important than doing your homework’.
Ads must not belittle or undermine parental choices for healthy food/beverages or meals by suggesting a certain food/beverage is better than the one the parent has provided. For example, depicting a healthy meal as less cool than another food.
Ads must not urge or make a direct appeal to a young person to buy a product, or encourage the child to pester parents or other adults to buy it for them. ‘Buy now!’ buttons and similar calls-to-action that incite a direct buying action are not permitted.

A note about design, links, landing pages, and promotions… 

Age-appropriate design

The design of Ads created by SuperAwesome takes into account children and teens’ best interests. SA requires:

Ads be labeled as advertising;
Any methods provided to dismiss or exit an advertisement are obvious to the user;
Ads do not use unfair, deceptive or other manipulative tactics to encourage excessive viewing or cause young audiences to unknowingly engage with Ads or download additional apps.

Links and landing pages

Young audiences should feel equally as safe when clicking on an Ad or visiting a destination they’re directed to, as when viewing it. Ads may direct users to another destination provided that they comply with the following standards:

Any landing page should be broadly in line with these Content Standards, and should be consistent with the description of the landing page in your Ad. For example, a “Find out more here” link should direct the child to a page where that child can genuinely find out more about the product/offer.
The link should not be to a site or social media channel, or platform that is inappropriate for the intended audience of your Ad. For example, Ads targeted at users under the age of 13 should not direct them to social media platforms whose terms specify that it is for users aged 13+ only.
Ads to children under 13 should not generally link to retail pages, as most retailers specify in their terms that their sites are for users aged 16/18+. Where including this type of link is unavoidable, please speak to your sales representative about the inclusion of SuperAwesome’s bumper page.
The landing page should not contain any targeting cookies, pixels, or other trackers if these are not legally permissible to be deployed with respect to the intended audience of your Ad.
Where the link is intended to send you to terms and conditions (e.g, for a Promotion, the link must send the individual directly to the applicable terms and conditions).

Promotions

Ads featuring promotions (e.g. competitions, sweepstakes, contests, promotional codes, etc.) to youth audiences have to be handled carefully.

As well as complying with the general and specific promotional laws, regulations, and rules applicable to Promotions in any location in which the Promotion is to be made available:

Ads should clearly disclose the likelihood of winning (e.g, ‘many will enter, few will win’, as young audiences may have unrealistic expectations about the chances of winning a sweepstakes or contest).
Prizes and other promotional items must be suitable for the intended audience.
Ads must make clear if adult permission is necessary to participate.
We do not generally accept Ads for promotions that require a purchase to participate.

The legal bit…

Whilst we strive to maintain the SuperAwesome Ad Standards in compliance with advertising regulations in the US and UK, they are not intended as legal advice. Compliance with the SuperAwesome Ad Standards does not ensure that the advertising or medium for delivery is legally compliant. We encourage you to consult with your legal advisor if you have questions about the laws and regulations concerning your Ads.

SuperAwesome never stops in its pursuit to power a better internet for the next generation, meaning we will review these policies regularly as we respond to changes in laws and regulations, societal tolerances, product innovation, or as SuperAwesome’s own philosophy and research evolves. SuperAwesome may change these policies at any time without notice, so please take a moment to check these before each campaign.

SuperAwesome will apply the SuperAwesome Ad Standards in letter and spirit. We reserve the right to reject, remove, or request modifications to an Ad (even after it may have been reviewed and/or approved) which, in our sole discretion, we consider to be harmful to our business or reputation, or to the business or reputation of SuperAwesome’s publisher partners, their end-users or which might otherwise harm the overall advertising ecosystem.

The SuperAwesome Ad Standards apply to all SuperAwesome advertising services. Application of specific standards may vary depending on the intended audience, platform, and context of delivery.

To learn more about advertising, data privacy, and the safety standards required to interact responsibly with kids and teens online, visit SuperAwesome.com/kidaware. Our KidAware training program is available to individuals, agencies, brands, and publishers around the world.

Last updated: [17 February 2026]