By its simplest possible definition, native advertising is producing an advert for a commercial product or service and publishing in a medium in such a manner that its form factor is very similar, or identical, to what the non-advertising content of that medium typically looks like.
For example (and traditionally by far the most typical example), if the medium is a newspaper, the ad would look like a typical non-advertisement article or story that said newspaper is full of. At a quick glance it's impossible to tell the difference between a serious article and the ad.
A more "honest" such advertisement will make in its content quite clear that it's not actually a news article but a product or service ad, which has just been formatted to look like all the other articles published in that newspaper. More devious and misleading examples will, however, be worded in such a way that they actually sound like a serious article, especially at first. The level of disclosure by the end of the text that it's actually an advertisement and not a news story may vary, depending on how devious the ad is. The most dishonest such ads may make it sound like a serious article all the way to the end, subtly promoting the product or service (typically as a suggested solution to a given problem or situation).
Newspapers (physical or online) are the most typical and easiest medium for native advertising, as it's so easy and effortless to make text look like a news article. However, native advertising is not limited to them. It becomes far more devious and elaborated when this is done on TV and, nowadays, to increasing extents in online streaming services.
There have been many rather egregious examples of eg. TV programs showing what superficially (and sometimes even not so superficially) looks like a news story, a documentary, or a guest interview, which is however a product or service ad. Like with newspapers, the level of disclosure in the ad itself varies, with the most devious and misleading examples not making it clear at all, keeping up the pretense of being a news story, documentary, or a serious guest interview on a subject, all the way through.
Fortunately native advertisement has not become a huge plague in the modern world because many countries severely limit it via legislation. In fact, many countries have outright banned native advertisement in all their forms, no matter how "honest" and open they may be in their content. Typically these countries have explicitly legislated that all forms of media must clearly distinguish ads from their non-advertising content in such a way that there is no possible confusion to the consumer.
Product placement is a minor form, and kind of precursor to native advertisement. Product placement is not masquerading an ad as a serious story, but it is showing a commercial product in a work of fiction, such as a TV series or movie.
Product placement is not typically banned in most countries, perhaps because it's not really trying to mislead and fool the consumer, but some countries still put some limits to them. For example, many countries have a strict ban on product placement in media targeting children. This is why you see so little product placement in kids' shows. (Ad breaks are still typically allowed, but must be clearly distinguished from the actual program, and must in no way be embedded into it.)
For example (and traditionally by far the most typical example), if the medium is a newspaper, the ad would look like a typical non-advertisement article or story that said newspaper is full of. At a quick glance it's impossible to tell the difference between a serious article and the ad.
A more "honest" such advertisement will make in its content quite clear that it's not actually a news article but a product or service ad, which has just been formatted to look like all the other articles published in that newspaper. More devious and misleading examples will, however, be worded in such a way that they actually sound like a serious article, especially at first. The level of disclosure by the end of the text that it's actually an advertisement and not a news story may vary, depending on how devious the ad is. The most dishonest such ads may make it sound like a serious article all the way to the end, subtly promoting the product or service (typically as a suggested solution to a given problem or situation).
Newspapers (physical or online) are the most typical and easiest medium for native advertising, as it's so easy and effortless to make text look like a news article. However, native advertising is not limited to them. It becomes far more devious and elaborated when this is done on TV and, nowadays, to increasing extents in online streaming services.
There have been many rather egregious examples of eg. TV programs showing what superficially (and sometimes even not so superficially) looks like a news story, a documentary, or a guest interview, which is however a product or service ad. Like with newspapers, the level of disclosure in the ad itself varies, with the most devious and misleading examples not making it clear at all, keeping up the pretense of being a news story, documentary, or a serious guest interview on a subject, all the way through.
Fortunately native advertisement has not become a huge plague in the modern world because many countries severely limit it via legislation. In fact, many countries have outright banned native advertisement in all their forms, no matter how "honest" and open they may be in their content. Typically these countries have explicitly legislated that all forms of media must clearly distinguish ads from their non-advertising content in such a way that there is no possible confusion to the consumer.
Product placement is a minor form, and kind of precursor to native advertisement. Product placement is not masquerading an ad as a serious story, but it is showing a commercial product in a work of fiction, such as a TV series or movie.
Product placement is not typically banned in most countries, perhaps because it's not really trying to mislead and fool the consumer, but some countries still put some limits to them. For example, many countries have a strict ban on product placement in media targeting children. This is why you see so little product placement in kids' shows. (Ad breaks are still typically allowed, but must be clearly distinguished from the actual program, and must in no way be embedded into it.)
Comments
Post a Comment