Advertorials

The Line Between Editorial and Advertising.

'Supplementary Income' The Media Guardian, 31/08/09

Advertorials are becoming more common and increasingly subtle, resulting in many initially being confused with journalism articles rather than a promotion. The Daily Express was heavily criticised earlier this month by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Watchdog, for disguising advertorials as news stories (the Goldshield Rozip advertorial pictured below). It is within the ASA code that all advertising features must be clearly labelled as an advertisement.

Despite this criticism of the Express as a result of advertorials, as marketing budgets become more strained, advertisers who are looking for better ways to make brands stand out are increasingly turning to advertorials. Justine Southall, publishing director of Cosmopolitan, says that last year was their best ever for advertorial features, and that this year they are on a similar track. Southall recognises the importance of the relationship between the reader and advertiser, as it can also effect attitudes towards the magazine. All advetorials must be clearly labelled, "[including] making sure the point size of the 'Cosmopolitan Promotion' is clearly legible." She also recognises that other publishers may be purposfully disguising promotions with unclear advertisement labelling, due to the current economic conditions, and says that "this is really dangerous for the long-term health of a brand."

Advertisers are not attracted to the fact that readers may be put off reading an advertorial if it is labelled as an advert, and are so looking for alternative methods of attatching brands to editorial. But feature editors themselves are very warey of getting carried away, and ensure not to push too many products into editorial spaces, in order to avoid annoying readers.

In conclusion I think it is both advertiser's and media owner's responsibility to manage the line between advertisements and editorials. Advertisers must satisfy the ASA's code, and journalists must control the level and amount of advertorials readers are presented with. It will also be interesting in the future to see what new ways advertisers will be linking brands to editorials.