An advertorial is an
advertisement
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
in the form of editorial content. The term "advertorial" is a
blend
A blend is a mixture of two or more different things or substances; e.g., a product of a mixer or blender.
Blend
Blend may also refer to:
* Blend word, a word formed from parts of other words
* ''Blend'' (album), a 1996 album by BoDeans
* Bl ...
(see
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words[Merriam-Webster
Merriam-Webster, Inc. is an American company that publishes reference books and is especially known for its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary publisher in the United States.
In 1831, George and Charles Merriam founded the company as ...](_blank)
dates the origin of the word to 1946.
In printed publications, the advertisement is usually written to resemble an
objective article and designed to ostensibly look like a legitimate and independent news story. In television, the advertisement is similar to a short
infomercial
An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...
presentation of products or services. These can either be in the form of a television commercial or as a segment on a talk show or variety show. In radio, these can take the form of a radio commercial or a discussion between the announcer and representative. The concept of internet-based advertorials is linked to
native advertising; however, whether the two terms are
synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
ous is contested.
Types
Advertorials can be classified into three types:
* Image advertorials: The organization running the advertisement wants to produce a favorable view of the organization or its products among the readers.
* Advocacy advertorials: The organization wants to explain their view of a controversial subject.
* Journalism advertorials: The organization wants to attract media attention to a subject or themselves.
Their goal may be inspiring independently written stories about their area of interest, to get quoted in related stories, or to influence how journalists will write about a subject in the future.
Publications
Advertorials differ from traditional advertisements in that they are designed to look like the articles that appear in the publication. Most publications will not accept advertisements that look exactly like stories from the newspaper or magazine they are appearing in. The differences may be subtle, and disclaimers—such as the word "advertisement"—may or may not appear. Sometimes terms describing the advertorial such as a "special promotional feature" or "special advertising section" are used. The tone of the advertorials is usually closer to that of a
press release than of an objective news story.
Advertorials can also be printed and presented as an entire newspaper section, inserted the same way within a newspaper as store fliers, comics sections, and other non-editorial content. These sections are usually printed on a smaller type of
broadsheet
A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper format), ta ...
and different
newsprint
Newsprint is a low-cost, non-archival paper consisting mainly of wood pulp and most commonly used to print newspapers and other publications and advertising material. Invented in 1844 by Charles Fenerty of Nova Scotia, Canada, it usually has an ...
than the actual paper, along with different fonts and column layouts. Many newspapers and magazines will assign staff writers or freelancers to write advertorials, usually without a
byline
The byline (or by-line in British English) on a newspaper or magazine article gives the name of the writer of the article. Bylines are commonly placed between the headline and the text of the article, although some magazines (notably ''Reader's D ...
credit. A major difference between regular editorial and advertorial is that clients usually have content approval of advertorials, a luxury usually not provided with regular editorial.
A related practice is the creation of material that looks like traditional media (for instance, a newspaper or magazine) but is actually created by a company to market its products. One familiar example is airline in-flight magazines, which may feature reports about travel destinations to which the airline flies.
In 1996, a UK based company called Parkway Publishing began publishing advertorials for advertisers. Parkway began enlisting clients and created PRPros to function as PR via advertorials with great success. The cottage industry is now widely used and considered very successful. Sheldon Schorr, the president of Parkway, was a leader in the crafting of advertorials and placed hundreds a year in scores of periodicals, especially magazines, utilizing quotes, brand references and trade enhancement, "meant to complement a company or persons' brand passively and more affordably than any other form of editorial content with much greater success than a press release". Historically, advertorials were less frowned upon and newspapers would even "show how magazine advertising is serving the public".
Television
Advertorials on television are longer than typical
television advertisements.
They are usually played on cable and satellite channels, which are less expensive than broadcast television.
They may include a
plot
Plot or Plotting may refer to:
Art, media and entertainment
* Plot (narrative), the story of a piece of fiction
Music
* ''The Plot'' (album), a 1976 album by jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava
* The Plot (band), a band formed in 2003
Other
* ''Plot' ...
or story line to increase the entertainment value for viewers, and thus hold their attention longer.
Daytime programs featuring light talk designed to draw in mainly a female audience often use advertorial segments which feature presentations of products, services, and packages by businesses. A representative of a business will have a discussion with a regular host, along with perhaps making a special offer for viewers.
Australia
In Australia, daytime programs featuring light talk and advertorials have been in television schedules since the late 1960s. One of the first was ''
Good Morning Melbourne
''Good Morning Melbourne'' is an Australian local morning show which aired on Network Ten
Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a ...
'' starring Roy Hampson and Annette Allison which began in 1967 followed by ''
Good Morning Sydney'' in 1978, hosted by Maureen Duvall.
Nine Network
The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
produced similar shows like ''In Sydney Today'' and ''In Melbourne Today'', later merged into ''Ernie and Denise'' in 1994. They were followed by a national program which began in 1992 on
Network Ten
Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
called
Good Morning Australia (formerly The Morning Show) with Bert Newton. This success of that show prompted the
Nine Network
The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
to launch a competing program in 2002 presented by
Kerri-Anne Kennerley titled ''
Mornings with Kerri-Anne'', later shortened to ''Kerri-Anne''. The Seven Network followed suit with a show starring
Denise Drysdale called ''Denise'' before the debut of ''
The Morning Show'' in 2007. Network Ten had ''
9am with David & Kim'' from 2006 which was replaced by ''
The Circle'' in 2010. In November 2011, Nine Network cancelled Kerri Anne which was replaced by a new program titled 'Mornings' which premiered in 2012 presented by
Sonia Kruger and
David Campbell. It was later rebranded as
Today Extra which meant the show was tied closer to Nine's breakfast news program
Today.
These programs feature a traditional daytime show format of light talk, health, beauty, fashion and recipe segments along with advertorial segments scattered throughout the show. The advertorials are usually hosted by regular advertorial hosts who interact with business representatives. The main hosts of the show usually do not interact with the advertorial hosts or the business representatives. Advertorials are regulated under the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice, which has been registered by the Australian Broadcasting Authority.
India
In India, the nexus between cable television companies, popular news papers and political parties came to the fore front in a 2011 documentary made by
Prasar Bharati which revealed that the ownership of seven of the ten largest media companies in India was connected to some political party or the other. This was given further credence to reports on
paid news
An advertorial is an advertisement in the form of editorial content. The term "advertorial" is a blend (see portmanteau) of the words "advertisement" and "editorial." Merriam-Webster dates the origin of the word to 1946.
In printed publications, t ...
that appeared in 2015-18 in selected Indian news papers and channels connecting the dark links between the two largest political parties BJP and Congress, black money and payments made to media channels to paint them in a better light. In 2018, a sting operation nicknamed "Cobrabost 136" by
Cobrapost, an Indian investigative journalism agency showed videos of meetings held with the 15 largest media companies, who agreed to publish / telecast communally and politically motivated and misleading information as a campaign in return for payments, routed through advertising and PR companies.
United States
In the United States, locally produced daytime television rose in the mid-2000s as local television stations (especially those with the
NBC and
Fox Networks
Fox Entertainment Group was an American entertainment company specialised in filmed entertainment owned by 21st Century Fox. Following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, the group's assets were folded into various Disney units. Th ...
, where NBC gave up the most programming time) saw network time on
weekday mornings after 9am returned to local control and saw new national talk shows either fail or not attract the right
demographic
Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings.
Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...
to a timeslot. Beginning with ''Daytime'' on
Media General station
WFLA-TV
WFLA-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Tampa, Florida, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Tampa Bay area. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside St. Petersburg–licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WTTA (channe ...
in
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
in the early 2000s, a new format featuring the structure of a traditional locally produced daytime show with the usual format of light talk, health features, beauty tips and recipe segments which was popular up to the early 1990s (when expansion of newscasts became a much less expensive, more dependable form of revenue) came into use. Some of these shows, such as
WKBW-TV's ''
AM Buffalo
WKBW-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, the station maintains studios at 7 Broadcast Plaza in downtown Buffalo and a transmitter on Center Street ...
'' in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
, seamlessly made the transition from a traditional local talk show to a paid program with little notice.
This type of program usually features light talk designed to draw in mainly a female audience, and then presentation of products, services, and packages by local businesses; for example a basement waterproofing system might be discussed by the representative of a company in that business with the hosts, along with perhaps a special offer for viewers. Like in Australia, to prevent any conflict of interest concerns with their counterpart local newsrooms, the hosts of advertorials have no communication with those personalities in the news department on-air, nor do they even mention any
breaking news
Breaking news, interchangeably termed late-breaking news and also known as a special report or special coverage or news flash, is a current issue that broadcasters feel warrants the interruption of scheduled programming or current news in orde ...
stories or perform a handoff to the newsroom for further details.
In U.S. newspapers, for example,
ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
purchased an advertorial positioned next to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' op-ed page every Thursday between 1972 and 2001.
Radio
On radio, advertorials can feature discussions between an announcer or a DJ and the representative of a business. The discussion may feature testimonials from customers or a personal endorsement from the announcer. The products featured can range from mobile phone/cable/satellite providers, insurance, financing, auto servicing, travel agencies, and upcoming concerts or music releases.
Australia
The "
cash for comment affair
The cash for comment affair was an Australian scandal that broke in 1999 concerning paid advertising in radio that was presented to the audience in such a way as to sound like editorial commentary. John Laws, a shock jock radio presenter for Sydne ...
" was an Australian scandal that broke in 1999, concerning paid advertising in radio that was presented to the audience in such a way as to sound like editorial commentary.
Legal issues
In the United Kingdom, the
Advertising Standards Authority requires advertorials to be clearly marked as such. In one case, the Scottish newspaper ''
The Herald'' published a feature titled "Professional Brief" that had been submitted by Glasgow-based French Duncan Chartered Accountants. According to a complaint, it did not clearly indicate that it was a paid advertisement. The newspaper argued that, because it was a "sponsored column" and it was indicated that the opinions expressed were those of the author, it did not have to refer to it as an advertisement. The ASA responded that, because payment was given in exchange for the publication of the columns and because the content was provided by the marketers rather than the newspaper, they considered the columns advertisements and required that they indicate as much.
For magazines in the United States mailed at the publication rate, the
Postal Service
The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...
has regulations as to how to mark editorial and advertising.
Domestic Mail Manual states that under 18 USC 1734, "if a valuable consideration is paid, accepted, or promised for the publication of any editorial or other reading matter in a Periodicals publication, that matter must be plainly marked 'advertisement' by the publisher. When a single item of paid editorial or other reading matter occupies more than one page, it need only be marked 'advertisement' on the first page. The word "advertisement" may be included in a statement that explains why the material is marked 'advertisement.' Such a statement must be prominent on the first page of the material and the word 'advertisement' in the statement must be in bold or italicized print or otherwise emphasized so that it can be plainly seen. Editors or publishers who print such matter without plainly marking it 'advertisement' are subject to a fine of not more than $500."
"DMM 707 Periodicals"
See also
* Advertising supplement
* Native advertising
* Informative advertising
Informative advertising is advertising that is carried out in a factual manner. This form of advertising relies solely on the goods or services strengths and features, rather than trying to convince customers to buy a product using emotion. The us ...
* Indian paid news scandal
* Mat release A mat release (also called a matte release) is a type of advertorial article associated with public relations and advertising.
The mat release is a short, feature story designed to appear like a newspaper article but which, in reality, contains per ...
References
{{media manipulation
Advertising by medium
News media manipulation
Publishing