I wasn’t planning to make a video on this topic, but considering the huge quantity of
comments I received on my recent video on giant owls in Canadian legend, I feel that
I am obliged to address it.
In the abovementioned video, I included an advertisement for a company called Established
Titles.
As a result, my video received several dozen comments informing me that Established Titles
is a “well-known scam,” and that it was unscrupulous of me to advertise their product.
In this video, I’m going to tell you why I decided to run an ad for Established Titles,
and to do what so many YouTubers are clearly too afraid to do, which is explain why, despite
what appears to be popular perception, that company’s service is actually not a scam.
If I fail to convince you by the end of this video, please feel free to unsubscribe from
my channel.
I wouldn’t want to follow a creator whom I regard a scam artist, and I don’t expect
you to either.
Before I begin, I should clarify that Established Titles did not pay me to produce this video.
I did not tell them that I was going to produce this video, and in fact I half expect the
agent of that company with whom I’ve been in contact to send me an email telling me
that they would prefer that I take this video down.
I do not have any special allegiance to Established Titles.
I’m making this video because I have an allegiance to the truth.
I first learned of Established Titles in late 2021, when I came across an advertisement
that looked something like this.
I thought the ad was funny, so I bought a title pack for my mom, which I gave to her
at Christmas.
Did I think I was buying my mom a membership to the peerage of the United Kingdom, like
sell, rent, or develop?
Of course not.
Did I think I was buying my mom a piece of land that she could do something useful with?
Of course not.
I was buying my mom a joke, which she found very funny.
If memory serves, she made some comment to my dad about never doing the dishes again.
We all had a good laugh over it.
Now jokes tend to fall flat when you have to explain them, but in an age where Tim Hortons
feels obliged to print the words “Caution!
Hot!” on their coffee cups, pointing out the obvious seems to be a requisite when making
cases like these.
The punchline of the Established Titles joke goes something like this: Way back in the
day, people who owned property in Scotland were called lairds, or lords.
This term was originally applied to the feudal lords of medieval Scotland, who held fiefs
granted to them by high nobles.
Although the term laird today designates an inheritor of one of those ancient Scottish
estates, anyone today who owns any land in Scotland, no matter how small, would, by the
obsolete standards of medieval Scotland, be called a laird.
Now, Established Titles sells tiny plots of land, each measuring one square foot in area
(that’s 1 foot by 1 foot), on a private estate in Scotland.
Anyone who purchases one of these plots is, according to the old-fashioned, outdated,
no-longer-applicable custom of medieval Scotland, ipso facto a laird.
The reason this is funny is because the term ‘laird’ is typically associated with grand
historic estates and the wealth and social prestige that often accompany them, yet in
this case is being applied to the owner of a tiny plot of land considerably less magnificent
that the properties usually associated with lairdship.
Does calling yourself a laird make you a peer of the United Kingdom?
Does dressing your chihuahua in a prince shirt make him a member of the royal family?
Of course not.
The title, in the context of the purchase, is meaningless.
The lairds of Established Titles are no more members of the British peerage than the 60
million senors of Mexico are hacendados, nor the monsieurs of France knighted chevaliers.
Holding an Established Titles plot is nothing more than a fun way to pretend that you’re
more dignified than your fellow commoners.
Put simply, you’re paying for a joke.
Although one could be forgiven for regarding the non-seriousness of this gift as self-evident,
especially considering the goofy nature of the B-roll footage Established Titles encourages
its advertisers to use, some have argued that Established Titles ads lead people to believe
that the purchase of an ET title pack actually confers nobility.
Watching some of the YouTubers who seem to sincerely believe this actually attempting
to make this argument is, frankly, vicariously embarrassing.
It’s like watching an expose on the Santa Claus at your local mall who it turns out
isn’t really Santa Claus!
But considering the huge number of people who appear to take these arguments seriously,
the arguments must be addressed.
Instead of attempting to trick people into believing their title packs confer nobility,
Established Titles forbids their advertisers from using the words “royalty” or “nobility”
in their ads in order to avoid this very thing.
In their old talking points guideline, they encourage their advertisers to impress upon
their audiences the fact that “Our certificate…
does not grant you the right to rule or make you a member of any royal family.
Our certificates also do not grant you peerages of the United Kingdom.”
They also forbid their advertisers from using the phrase, “You can legally change your
name on your Passport and Drivers’ License.”
If any of the creators whom Established Titles sponsored broke these rules in their ads,
then their ads would be, by definition, exceptions to the rule, and reflect poorly on whatever
employee failed to properly vet them, not on the company’s policy itself.
To summarize, Established Titles’ old official talking point guidelines instruct advertisers
to make it clear that their title packs do not confer nobility.
And no matter what hidden message one reads into Established Titles ads, having poor listening
comprehension skills does not make one’s misinterpretations true.
Now that we’ve dispensed with the most prominent misconception about this company, let’s
move on to the next, namely that Established Titles is a scam because its patrons do not
actually own the square foot of land they purchase.
Apparently, some of those who bought title packages were disappointed to learn that they
cannot actually do anything useful with their souvenir plot which sits on a private estate.
I have to confess that I’m a little curious as to what sort of plans these people had
for their square foot of Scottish soil.
Did they plan to develop a dollhouse on it?
Did they plan to rent it out to ants?
Whatever the case, Established Titles very clearly states on their website’s FAQ page
that the souvenir plots they sell are too small to be registered with the Scottish Land
Registry.
In other words, purchase of a title pack does not confer legal right of land ownership.
They say it right on their website, and I said it in my video.
Next, some YouTubers have erroneously claimed that Established Titles is a scam because
it does not plant a tree with each order purchased, as stated in its ads.
In fact, Established Titles donates a portion of their profit to the charities One Tree
Planted and Trees for the Future, which plant trees on their behalf, as stated in their
ads.
Representatives of these charities have confirmed their partnership with Established Titles
to various journalists in America and the United Kingdom.
Finally, some have taken issue with the fact that Established Titles is a Chinese company.
It’s true, they’re based out of Hong Kong.
So what?
Let the Westerner who has never purchased a product made in China cast the first stone.
Before I wrap this up, I’d like to address allegations made by some commenters that I’m
only saying nice things about Established Titles for the money.
For the past six months, I’ve received dozens of emails from potential sponsors asking me
to promote their products, such as video games I would never play, knives I would never use,
and VPNs which slow down your internet speed.
Despite that many of these companies made very appealing offers – some of them far
more lucrative than my one-time ad deal with Established Titles - I turned them all down,
not because I couldn’t use the money (and believe me, I really, really could), but because,
on principle, I refuse to promote products I don’t use and enjoy myself.
Viewers who watch my videos regularly know that I have only published two paid ads in
the history of my YouTube career, one of them a few weeks ago for a company called Blinkist,
which offers a very interesting service which I personally enjoy and find useful, and the
other just recently for Established Titles.
I am extremely selective about which products I choose to promote, and I decided to actively
seek out an ad deal with Established Titles because I had a very pleasant experience purchasing
their title pack as a Christmas gift.
It’s really as simple as that.
So that’s my case.
I don’t know yet whether I’ll seek out another ad deal with Established Titles, and
considering the reaction to my first advertisement, I’m not entirely sure I want to.
But all my research and personal experience, and, frankly, plain old common sense, tells
me they’re a perfectly legitimate company, and I would not have promoted their product
if I thought otherwise.
If this video achieves anything, I hope it’s the fostering of the notion that one’s opinions,
in matters such as these, ought to be formed to a greater degree by one’s own independent
research than by the easy influence of groupthink.
Be skeptical, ask questions, and think for yourself.
Thanks for watching.