Advertising with creators in Portugal: what the law asks of brands

When I'm putting a campaign together, brands almost always ask me whether the video has to say it's an ad and who's liable if something goes wrong. The answer changes depending on whether the video goes out on the creator's profile or only in the brand's ads, but the ground rules are in Portugal's Advertising Code (Código da Publicidade), which is enforced by the Direção-Geral do Consumidor (DGC), the public body that oversees advertising in Portugal. Here's what the law says, what the influencer marketing guide the DGC published in October 2025 asks for, and what that changes in your brief and your contract. It's practical information to help you find your way, and it doesn't replace a lawyer for a specific case.

When a video counts as advertising

Portugal's Constitution bans all forms of hidden, indirect or deceptive advertising, and Article 8 of the Advertising Code says advertising must be unequivocally identified as such, whatever the medium, social media included. According to the DGC's guide, a post becomes commercial communication when there's a payment in money or any other benefit, when the creator was given the product, even with no conditions attached, and when the content promotes a specific product with links or discount codes. So a cream sent “with no strings attached” already counts, and if the creator shows it on her profile, that post has to be identified as advertising.

When the video goes out on the creator's profile

If the video goes out on the creator's account, the DGC's guide says how to identify it as advertising: right at the start of the post, in text, audio, photo or video, with #PUB, #PUBLICIDADE or #ANÚNCIO PUBLICITÁRIO. The label always has to be in Portuguese, and an English version such as #ADVERTISING can only be added alongside it. The same guide calls it bad practice to put the label only in the middle or at the end of the post, or to hide it behind a link or a “see more”.

On Instagram, the Branded Content Policies require the creator to use the paid partnership label to tag the brand she's working with, on posts, stories, reels and live videos. The first time she tags your brand, you get a request to approve, and until you approve it the label shows without your brand's name. Since the DGC's guide treats the Portuguese label as mandatory, ask the creator for both, the platform's label and the #PUB at the start.

When the video only runs as the brand's ad

Often a UGC video, the one a creator films for the brand to use in its ads, never reaches her profile at all, because the brand runs it from its own account. In that case the platform does the identifying, since the EU's Digital Services Act requires it to show on every ad, clearly and in real time, that it's advertising and on whose behalf it's presented. The DGC's guide also points to the platforms' own ad tools, the so-called sponsored formats, as a way of identifying advertising. If the same video also goes up on the creator's profile, that post follows the rules in the previous section. And having the identification sorted doesn't exempt you from the rest of the law, because a UGC video nearly always takes the form of a testimonial, with someone telling you how the product worked for them, and the rules on what's claimed apply just the same on her profile and in your ads.

What the creator can say in the video

Article 10 of the Advertising Code requires claims about a product's origin, nature, composition, properties and purchase conditions to be accurate and provable at any time. Purchase conditions include prices and promotions, so an “only until Sunday” in the script has to be true, and the DGC's guide lists falsely claiming an offer is about to end, to rush the purchase, as bad practice. Under Article 11, the enforcing authority can demand that the advertiser prove what the ad claims and, if the proof doesn't arrive or isn't enough, it presumes the claims are inaccurate. Before the video goes out, keep a folder with the tests, studies or data behind every figure in the script.

Testimonials have their own rules in Article 15, which requires them to be personal, genuine and verifiable, and the DGC's guide counts basing a testimonial on experiences the person never had among its bad practices. The same article only accepts testimonials without an identified person if they aren't attributed to a specially qualified witness, for example through uniforms or clothing typical of a profession, so dressing a creator in a white coat to talk about a cream as if she were a dermatologist is a risk that isn't worth taking. Language matters too, because Article 7 only allows foreign languages when the ad is aimed mainly at foreigners, apart from the odd word the message needs, so an English-language video for Portuguese customers is out.

In my UGC campaigns I'm the one who writes the briefs and the scripts, and I write them with these rules in mind. The brief is where it's written down, before anyone picks up a phone, what the video can say about the product, what language it's filmed in and how it'll be identified if it also goes out on the creator's profile. Then I follow the shoots, and the videos reach you ready to publish.

Who's liable if something goes wrong

Article 36 sets out who's punished for breaches, and first on the list is the advertiser, which Article 5 defines as the person or company in whose interest the advertising is made, in other words your brand. Next come advertising agencies and professionals, the owner of the medium where the ad appears and anyone else involved in issuing the advertising message, which includes the creator. Under Article 34, negligence is always punishable, so saying the #PUB was forgotten is no excuse, and fines for missing identification or inaccurate claims range from €3,500 to €45,000 for a company. On the civil side, Article 30 makes advertisers, agencies and media owners jointly liable for damage caused to third parties, and the advertiser only escapes if it proves it didn't know about the message before it went out, and a brand that approved the script and the video knew the message.

What to put in the brief and the contract

Almost all of this can be settled in writing before filming, and these points belong in the brief and in the contract with whoever's filming:

• Where the video will appear: in the brand's ads, on the creator's profile, or both.
• On her profile, #PUB at the start and in Portuguese, plus the paid partnership label, which you approve when the request comes in.
• The claims allowed about the product, each with its proof, and the ones that are off-limits.
• That the creator talks about her own experience and doesn't appear dressed as a health professional.
• The exact terms of every promotion or discount code, with the date it ends.
• The language of the video, which should be Portuguese when the audience is Portuguese.
• Who reviews the video and caption before they go out, and what happens if the identification is missing.

In a UGC campaign with me, I pick the creators for your product, write the scripts and briefs, follow the shoots and deliver the videos ready to publish, with three months of paid ad usage included. If you tell me from the start where the videos will appear, the brief takes that into account from day one. Tell me what you sell and where the videos are going, and I'll reply within 24 hours.