ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses an ongoing ethical dilemma where the line is being blurred between commercial content on the one hand and news/editorial or entertainment on the other. This practice-called “advertorial” in traditional print media and “infomercials” in TV-occurs today as part of a new online advertising practice called “native advertising,” that is one of the hottest new forms of marketing. As I write this chapter the FTC has just published a comprehensive “Guide for Business” on Native Advertising that we shall consider in detail. There are some who argue that this blurring is not a problem and that con-
sumers don’t care. In my view, if consumers are unaware that the “news” or “entertainment” they are watching, listening to, or reading is paid for advertising, they are being misled and treated unethically. First, consumers could attach more credibility to the content if they believe it to be written as a news story. Second, they will not have their minds set in what I would call a “business mode” to evaluate the content/claim, as they would if recognizing it as a paid for, persuasive ad. Consumers care about how ads are addressed to them. They rely upon the
information in ads for purchase decisions, but they will reject advertising information when they learn it was disguised as editorial or entertainment. After reviewing current instances of blurring in traditional media, we will focus on the new challenges presented by Native Advertising, as well as the opportunities that flow from effective disclosure as to its ad content.
