Getting restless over native advertising
It鈥檚 a lovely time of year in Boston, when, just walking down the street, one can enjoy the sight and the fragrance of the (finally) blossoming trees.
I picked up another fragrance the other day though: a strong whiff of euphemism.
, the public radio business show, had a report on 鈥渂randed news,鈥� those wannabe 鈥渘ews鈥� articles that pop up when you鈥檙e looking for something else. All sorts of news organizations are looking to such 鈥渃ontent鈥� to help pay the bills, Marketplace reported.
The fundamentals of the story were familiar: the challenge of paying for quality journalism in an age when 鈥渢he information wants to be free.鈥� What I learned from it was the industry term for this stuff: native advertising.
Does that mean that obvious advertising somehow has 鈥渋mmigrant鈥� status? (And maybe a path to citizenship, but maybe not?) The advertising software firm gives this 鈥淥fficial Definition鈥� of native advertising: 鈥渁 form of paid media where the ad experience follows the natural form and function of the user experience in which it is placed.鈥�
Sharethrough adds: 鈥淣ative ads match the visual design of the experience they live within, and look and feel like natural content.鈥澛�
In other words, these ads fit right in, and 鈥渃onsumers鈥� (readers) may not realize what they are. Hmm. During my reporting career, I don鈥檛 remember ever promising my editors I鈥檇 file 700 words of 鈥渘atural content鈥� by 1 o鈥檆lock.
The Federal Trade Commission has warned that publishers will be held responsible for misleading ad content. Hitherto the agency has regarded publishers simply as distribution channels for advertising. 鈥淏ut when the publisher is creating the content, they鈥檙e more involved in the process, and that creates some potential liability,鈥� Mary Engle, associate director of advertising practices at the FTC, told an in New York earlier this month.
She may have had in mind a New York Times piece from last summer. As Rich Kane reported in in January, it appeared to be an in-depth piece on the incarceration of women. In reality, though, it was an elaborate 鈥渘ative ad鈥� meant to stoke interest in the second season of the Netflix series 鈥淥range Is the New Black.鈥�
The Times pushed back against the accusation of deception, noting the presence of the Netflix logo and a disclaimer.
Be that as it may, I suggest another term: camouflage copy. It gets more honestly at what these 鈥渁ds鈥� are supposed to do: blend in unnoticed.
鈥淪eparation of church and state鈥� is the journalist鈥檚 term for this issue. Comedian John Oliver, though, has reframed it as 鈥渢he separation of guacamole and Twizzlers,鈥� quipping, 鈥淪eparately they鈥檙e good, but if you mix them together, somehow you make both of them really gross.鈥�
The appeal to publishers, and maybe even to consumers, is understandable. But if they have to run this stuff, can we have a more honest name for it?
