At this point, it’s safe to say we’re living in an internet-dependent era. Whether you’re a part of Gen X, a Millenial, Gen Z or Generation Alpha, who’s teasingly called the iPad generation on TikTok and Twitter, we’re all perpetually online, which means we spend our fair share of time scrolling through newsfeeds.
When doing so, we’ve probably run into the same sponsored ads that claim to have best homemade detox lemonade cleanse to shed belly fat or posts that read “Click here for never before seen images of an A-list movie star’s home!” While these were once the only thing we pictured when we thought of online advertisements, the integration of native ads has since changed the game.
What are native advertisements?
Native advertising is the method of creating ads that are so cohesive with a page’s content and contains the same design integration that the user feels the paid post is among the site’s regular content, according to an article on the public advertising company taboola.com.
Like the case with most things, there are people who see this kind of practice as a bad thing, and there are those who don’t see anything wrong with it. Why? Because there are points on each side.
The Bad
Native ads are meant to be confusing and are therefore deceiving. Because they mimic their surroundings in an effort to not interrupt a user’s scrolling experience, it makes them feel that much more cheated when they realize it’s an advertisement only after clicking the link.
In an article called “6 Ways to Make Your Native Advertising More Ethical,” author Hal Conick notes an experience by Entertainment Weekly creator Jeff Jarvis, who was faced with a decision about whether or not to post a native ad on the publication. He ultimately decided not to run it because he feared it wouldn’t be obvious enough for readers to differentiate between.
“The problem with native [advertising] is that it does try to confuse the reader,” Jarvis said in the article. “And as [the journalism] industry got more desperate, we finally got ready to sell our seed corn. That is our reputation, our editorial space.”
As a way to make people click on sponsored ads, its creators can intentionally create misleading headlines, use captivating images and blatantly offer fictitious information. The spread of misinformation should not be rooted by journalists whose job is to provide trustworthy and accurate information to the public. By incorporating native ads on a news organization’s website, it helps distribute fake news.
The Good
A 2017 study by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers and the Native Advertising Institute found that native ads brought in 20 percent of overall advertising revenue for news media organizations. By 2021, that number is expected to rise to 36 percent.
In order to bring well-researched news and meaningful stories to the public, publishers need financial support. Websites need to remain accessible to every user, in which monetizing website traffic with advertising comes into play. However, everything goes out the window if these “non disruptive” ads are not properly labeled as “sponsored content.”
The Give & Take
Internet-users know online advertising exists. Being deceived or feeling like you’ve been sold out, though, is when native advertising fails. When 14 percent of readers can’t tell the difference between editorial and branded content, it negatively affects the journalism industry because it should be a trustworthy harbinger of information.
As someone who majored in Broadcast Journalism and spent the early years of her career as a Digital Content Producer, I don’t feel like native advertising is fair for news sites to utilize, especially in an age where misinformation and fake news are spread like wildfire. This doesn’t mean native advertising has to go extinct altogether. If non-news websites want to use this practice, they should be able to, with the condition that sponsored content is always labeled as such, and in a way that there is no confusion or hesitation from the reader.
References:
A, N. (2021, June 20). Native advertising. Taboola.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021, from https://www.taboola.com/native-advertising.
Batsell @jbatsell, J. (2018, January 4). 4 steps to bring ethical clarity to native advertising. Nieman Reports. Retrieved November 20, 2021, from https://niemanreports.org/articles/4-steps-to-bring-ethical-clarity-to-native-advertising/.
Conick, H. (2019, November 5). 6 ways to make your native advertising more ethical. American Marketing Association. Retrieved November 20, 2021, from https://www.ama.org/marketing-news/6-ways-to-make-your-native-advertising-more-ethical/.
Karpenkova, A. (2020, May 26). Is native advertising good or bad? Joinative. Retrieved November 2o, 2021, from https://joinative.com/native-advertising-good-or-bad.