Ad-Sponsored Editorial Content Draws Regulator’s Notice

The practice of native advertising, or the use of editorial content for promotional or marketing purposes, is beginning to capture the attention of advertising regulators who are concerned that some content could be considered deceptive to consumers.

The National Advertising Division, an investigative unit of the Advertising Self-Regulatory Council, administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus, has issued two rulings on the practice in the last two months, one in favor of how an advertiser used editorial content for promotional purposes and one that required an advertiser to modify its practices. While the division often responds to complaints brought by competing marketers who accuse others of violating advertising guidelines, the native advertising cases were found as a result of the group’s regular monitoring of various kinds of advertising.