Blurring the Lines: Where Does Editorial End and Advertising Begin?.
In what is becoming an increasingly competitive business environment, advertisers are beginning to turn to an alternative approach to communicate their messages to their target audience. One such approach that is gaining popularity is the advertorial. An advertorial is just what the name implies: an editorial and advertisement combined. It is a form of paid advertisement where the publication's editorial staff are called on to write an "article", which in most cases in simply a padded advertisement spiel. The inherent deceptive nature of the advertorial poses a question that warrants our attention as responsible consumers: Where does editorial end and advertising begin?.
Critics of the advertorial claim that the line between editorial and advertisement is becoming increasingly blurred (Baran 150). When most of us think of an editorial, we think about the opinion editorial section of our local newspaper or a special feature in the Time or NewsWeek magazine. Editorial articles usually contain opinions about politics, entertainment, and other social commentary. Advertising refers to a sponsored promotional tailored to fit a targeted audience. This explains why we see McDonalds and Mattel commercials during Saturday morning cartoons in contrast to SUV and Merrill Lynch commercials during Meet the Press. But if the editorial staff is working for the advertiser, how does the average reader distinguish the two?.
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The advertorial sets itself apart from the editorial in a few ways. One way to tell an advertorial from an editorial is the disclaimer at the top or bottom of the page. In any editorial, the words "this is a paid advertisement", "advertisement", or "special advertisement" will be found at the top or bottom of the magazine page. This alerts the reader to the fact that what they are reading is not an independent article, but a paid advertisement.