How often do you read online news articles? Do you see the “sponsored by” lines between the lines? In most cases, you can scroll through an online news story without paying attention to the tiny print, which states, “sponsored by.” Native advertising has been well incorporated into online media design to the extent that readers do not know the difference between editorial material and promotional content. Even without thinking about it, this creates a media environment where advertisement is disguised beneath the surface and persuasion is practised more like storytelling than salesmanship.
Ads that look like real news
Source : Novak
There was a culture in traditional journalism that differentiated between content and commerce. The connection between media and advertisers was that of integration; media relied on advertisers, but there was a difference between journalism and marketing. Publishers and platforms are financially strained, and native advertising offers them a means of survival. It allows the brands to be credible in the journalism and gives news outlets a reliable source of revenue.
When Ads Pretend to be Journalism
Source : The New York Times
Let me introduce a native advertising piece as a case study so that we can understand better. The case of The New York Times and Netflix collaborating in the year 2014 to promote Orange Is the New Black is one such example. The article, Women Inmates: Why the Male Model Doesn’t Work, looked like serious investigative journalism with data visualisation and professional commentary. It was, however, created by the paper’s advertisement department. Such a form of native advertising is a step towards changing the editorial line and turning the tools of journalism into a brand storytelling tool. The format and style are similar to the authentic-reporting type of style because there is no direct differentiation between information and persuasion.
Ferrer-Conill et al. explain the use of the visual cues of colour schemes or layout as an indicator or concealer of whether a piece is commercial. The audience perceives advertising less in situations where such cues are intentionally ambiguous. Openness turns out to be a performance and not an obligation. A legal obligation, such as a “sponsored” text in a small font at the top of a page, can satisfy a legal requirement but leaves the readers ill-informed in any significant sense.
This is a good combination as far as business is concerned. Branded content alters the connection between the media and the advertiser, as it is less of a sale and more of a partnership. Brands do not have to buy the space or airtime to make a statement they simply have to create stories that are in line with their mission. In this case, the consumers are not receiving campaigns but stories.
Once commercial communication becomes the strength of journalism, then the room for criticism is reduced. The media loses its authority as a social institution when sponsors, in the form of advertising, pay for everything. The viewer is transformed into a target group. The brand accomplishment is gauged by the way it transforms the culture into a chain of logos and identities. Native advertising transfers this procedure into the day-to-day reading of the news.
Critics believe that where the disclosures can be seen in an obvious form, then the readers will be in a position to differentiate between actual reporting and branded storytelling. However, the front pages of the media are frequently constructed in such a manner that this action is disguised, as viewers would not notice it. It is not good for the audience but for the advertisers. Part of the journalism ethics is independence, but the aspect of profit makes them engage in unethical practices despite the reputation attached to the most reputable organisations. As they are growing on sponsorship, terminating such contracts would lead to them losing a growth opportunity.