Ad or Not? Justin Timberlake and Bai Brands

Yes, we went there… #SB51 @drinkbai

A photo posted by Justin Timberlake (@justintimberlake) on Jan 26, 2017 at 9:08am PST

There’s no denying that Justin Timberlake looks pretty dapper in his red velvet jacket drinking a glass of Bai in his recent Instagrams.

Indeed, the posts have already garnered more than 2 million views, 660,000 likes and 14,000 comments. The posts, also featured on Bai’s Instagram account, references Super Bowl 51. That’s because the company recently announced that Timberlake will be starring in its Super Bowl commercial during the game.

What’s missing though is a clear disclosure regarding Timberlake’s material connection to the company, which markets fruit drinks.

What are you doing this weekend? #SB51 @drinkbai

A video posted by Justin Timberlake (@justintimberlake) on Jan 31, 2017 at 10:22am PST

The Grammy-award winning singer and actor is not only starring in the Bai’s Super Bowl commercial, he is also an investor in the company, which calls him its “Chief Flavor Officer.”

The FTC’s endorsement guidelines, which were updated to address social media advertising disclosures, state that if someone is paid to promote a product or has a material connection with a company, they must disclose that relationship since it could affect a consumer’s opinion about the product. Best place to put the disclosure? Right at the beginning of the post.

TINA.org reached out to Bai to inquire why the posts lacked #ad. The company has not responded.

For more of TINA.org’s coverage of When an individual (or cute pet) promotes a good or service, primarily on social media, because they were paid to do so, or because of a material connection between the person (or pet) and the company click here.

This post was updated on 2/1/17.