Advertorials, often referred to as camouflaged ads, occur both in print and online. The setting determines the presentation – texts, photos, videos, and other multimedia content is possible. Theoretically, there is no limit to the design, but advertisers have to adhere to rules and guidelines if they want to enhance their marketing mix with advertorials.
Clear guidelines are set by theFTC, or Federal Trade Commission, to separate editorial content from advertisements. The separation is not only structural, but also has to be clearly recognizable by readers. Advertisers must make sure that their contributions, which may be stylistically adapted to resemble the publisher’s environment, are clearly marked as advertisements.
In print, most markings take the form of a supplement (“advertisement” or “advertising”) at either the top or the bottom of the page. For online ads – whether on a large news site or a small blog – the phrase “Sponsored Link,” “Sponsored Post,” or “Advertisement,” is displayed on the page.
There are guidelines and labeling requirements, but of course there are also many black sheep in the advertising industry who exploit the legal gray areas.