The FMCG giant said the list would help it gain more control and visibility over where its adverts are placed to ensure they are viewed by people not bots, and to create a more positive experience for people online.

The vetting criteria to become a Trusted Publishers will go beyond Unilever’s existing ‘3Vs’ – Viewability, Verification and Value standards – to satisfy additional, evolving and more stringent checks around ad fraud, online brand safety, ad experience, traffic quality, ad formatting and data access.

Eventually most of Unilever’s online advertising spend will be made through this protocol, working closely with media agency partners.

Keith Weed, outgoing-chief marketing officer at Unilever, said: “Now is the perfect time for Unilever to build on the efforts and progress we’ve made so far in the past 12 months in cleaning up the digital ecosystem. We’ve been clear for years about what we want to see online – more consumer trust through greater publisher transparency, more effective use of time and money, and better online experiences for everyone. Online advertising credibility is still a global, industry-wide problem and as the world’s second largest advertiser, we have a responsibility to use our scale and influence to address this issue."

This is the latest phase in Unilever’s Responsibility Framework.