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It has happened to you. You clicked on the cutest video of tiny
4-year-olds jumping across 2-feet fences on horribly naughty
ponies, and all of a sudden you went from content to what is barely
discernible as an ad for a weight reduction product or more likely
a very expensive new saddle.
It is estimated by IAB Canada that the Native Advertising spend
globally will reach $21 billion in 2018 (Interactive Advertising
Bureau of Canada, 2016).
Native Advertising which is defined as "a type of disguised
advertising technique that matches the form and function of the
platform upon which it appears" (Wikipedia, 2016) is not
illegal per se. What is clear from both the FTC and the Competition
Bureau guidance is that the harm to be avoided is misleading
consumers into believing that content is editorial content rather
than paid advertising.
In the decades past, we used to call these
"advertorials" which were typically paid ads written in
the style of a magazine feature to suggest that the editors just
appeared to discover this great new mascara and had to share it
with their readers. Magazines, once outed by consumer advocates,
began marking these paid pieces as "advertorials" or
"advertisements".
In the new form of native advertising, with the efficacy of the
digital/social platform, the transition from interesting content to
paid advertising is virtually seamless and the challenge as an
advertiser or a platform is properly disclosing the material
connection or the fact that the content is paid advertising. From a
business perspective, of course, neither the advertiser nor the
platform want to be too direct in disclosing the connection or the
media will not be as effective.
The resulting "suggested post", "sponsored"
and "protected" tags did little to clear up the inherent
deception in the platform.
Under the current regime, best practices dictate that depending
on the input the advertiser has into the content of the native
advertising, different disclosures may be required.
If the advertiser merely suggests content and products and hands
it over to the platform to review, the term "advertorial"
may be appropriate. If, however, the advertiser has
approval/editorial rights in the content created or even created
the content themselves, the post should be disclosed as
"advertisement" or "paid advertisement" or
"sponsored by X brand".
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
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