As Online Ads Look More Like News Articles, F.T.C. Warns Against Deception

[TomCADem]

Many major content providers have begun to quietly incorporate sponsored content into their websites that looks like an actual new story, but is actually an advertisement or paid propaganda. If you look at the "Recommend For You" articles, you may see a small note that it is "Powered by Taboola" or some other paid content pusher. Yet, these ads don't look like ads. Often times, these stories are biased toward the right, yet they are drawn as if they represent a neutral journalistic source.

It is about time that the FTC requires these ads to be disclosed as such, but already content provides like Reuters have come out and attacked the FTC's actions given that it will cut into one of their revenue streams.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/05/business/ftc-says-sponsored-online-ads-can-be-misleading.html

WASHINGTON — What happens when advertising stops being obvious?

The Federal Trade Commission, charged with protecting consumers and guarding against deceptive advertising practices, acknowledges it does not know.

But faced with a growing wave of digital advertising that is intended to look like the news articles and features of the publications where they appear, the commission is warning advertisers that it intends to vigorously enforce its rules against misleading advertising.

The practice of what is now known as native advertising or sponsored content — and has been referred to as advertorial or infomercial — has grown more aggressive on the Internet. That is because companies and brands have the ability to target specific audiences and individuals and to get instant feedback when consumers react to what is being shown.

[TomCADem]

1. Blurred Lines: Advertising or Content? An FTC Workshop on Native Advertising

Here is a link to the FTC workshop examining the blending of advertisements with news, entertainment, and other editorial content in digital media, referred to as "native advertising" or "sponsored content." The sad this is that the publishing industry's declining ethics have fallen so much that the FTC has to look into the issue. I seem to recall that it was once clear that it was an ethical violation not to disclose that you are being paid to push a certain story.

http://www.ftc.gov/news-events/audio-video/video/blurred-lines-advertising-or-content-ftc-workshop-native-advertising-1

[jsr]

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