CRyder Design

Native Advertising: An Ethical Contradiction

Photo by **Anthony Rosset** on **Unsplash**

What is Native Advertising?

As an individual who lived in a world packed to the brim with media, chances are you’ve seen a native advertisement before. You may even be asking yourself (or me), “What do you mean? I don’t even know what that is!” Well, let me explain. Native advertising is done in a way, that the ad is presented to you in a way where you may not initially pick up on the fact that it even is an ad. It’s meant to blend in with the rest of the content, where it is “native” in its presentation. It’s “… a paid advertising channel where the ad content matches the form, appearance, and function of the media on which it appears. Simply put, it’s ads that ‘fit in’ to a website, app, or publication” (“What is Native Advertising?”). Although if done properly, it may be effective, understandably it’s a very sneaky approach to advertising. It’s seemingly meant to confuse viewers, which is why it is an ethical problem.

Ethical Issues of Native Advertising

There’s an ongoing debate on the ethical standing of native advertising. Some individuals argue that it’s completely ethical, and just another form of advertising. While others argue that it ruins the the trust that audiences have in publications and journalists. Needless to say, it’s not necessarily a good thing for individuals who feed us media on a daily basis to have different beliefs in the ethical nature of the content that is being produced. Thus, it is a contradiction.

As a user experience researcher and designer, I may be biased, but not for the wrong reasons. I have been trained and continue to work as an advocate for the user. In simpler terms, I believe that users should not have to second guess the content that they are interacting with, and that everything should be developed with a user-centered perspective. So, with this in mind, I do think that native advertising is unethical.

Author, Hal Conick explains, “But native ads are inherently confusing. They mimic their surroundings and try to avoid being an interruption. Although Reuters; study finds that 86% of readers can tell the difference between editorial and branded content, 14% can’t — a non-negotiable number in journalism, an industry that relies on reader confidence.”

Native ads are meant to just be consumed as any other piece of content, which is where the problem starts. Merriam-Webster defines an advertising as, “the action of calling something to the attention of the public especially by paid announcements.” Even in it’s definition, advertisements are meant to catch the attention of users. Something which native advertising avoids. Additionally, this definition includes the fact that advertisements are typically paid announcements. This brings me to my next point, the position of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The FTC and Native Advertising

The FTC states, “It’s the FTC’s job to ensure that long-standing consumer protection principles apply in the digital marketplace, including native advertising… Under the FTC Act, an act or practice is deceptive if there is a material misrepresentation or omission of information that is likely to mislead the consumer acting reasonably in the circumstances…Because ads can communicate through a variety of means – text, images, sounds, etc. – the FTC will look to the overall context of the interaction, not just to elements of the ad in isolation… Put another way, both what the ad says and the format it uses to convey that information will be relevant. Any clarifying information necessary to prevent deception must be disclosed clearly and prominently to overcome any misleading impression.”

Now, this may seem to be an understandable policy, but advertisers still find their way around it. I want to mainly focus on the part of this text that states “Any clarifying information necessary to prevent deception must be disclosed clearly and prominently to overcome any misleading impression.” Seems simple enough, right? Well, author Hal Conick also states, “Often, the lone differentiator is a small, two-word ‘sponsored content’ label somewhere on the page — sometimes, even that label is absent.” The lack of this indication is meant to be something that is not easily recognized let alone, disclosed clearly and prominently.

Moving Forward

Although this is an argument for why native advertising can be unethical, there are also several individuals who believe that it is an ethical practice. However, before making your own decision, be sure to educate yourself and understand the ins and outs before projecting your beliefs onto others.