The Questionable Nature of Native Advertising is Something We're Comfortable With

Keri Johnson

kj153517@ohio.edu 

 

Many of us see it everyday -- but it is seeing and not knowing that makes it what it is. What am I talking about? Native advertising.

Native advertising is advertising that disguises itself as something that is not an ad. For example, an Instagram post that is sponsored. Though labeled clearly -- small, but labeled -- the post reads and looks like one a friend would make. Though both the trained and untrained eye can spot the ad, this is not always the case for the dubious marketing.

 

Picture source: Medium

In a 2015 post by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Bobbi Johnson Simmons, APR, wrote about the dangers and pitfalls of native advertising. Simmons writes that the use of native advertising has skyrocketed as a way to compete with fewer and fewer print ads; the more use of social media, the more use of native advertising. One can assume it will only go up from here -- especially because of how well it works. 

According to outbrain.com states that knowing something is a native ad doesn't stop people from buying a product. Since conversation surrounding native advertising skyrocketed in 2016, people have gotten used to the style of ads. 

According to oberlo.com, native advertising is more effective than traditional ads. The website states that people find native ads more interesting and visually compelling, as well as more "shareable," noticeable and attention-grabbing. Native ads are "insidious," Ben Kunz writes on digiday.com. 

Native ads disrupt consumer trust, Kunz argues. Native advertising blurs the line between an ad and neutral content. But native advertising has become the standard for many advertisers across all different platforms, notably Twitter and Instagram. 

Native ads use many strategies to get our attention -- mimicking real stories, using quizzes and our information. The ads are easy to engage with, but don't seem like ads. Continuously, journalists and consumers alike find the ethics of ads that aren't clearly labeled questionable. However accustomed we've grown, we still have conversations about native advertising making us uncomfortable.

As controversial and conflicting as a topic native advertising is, many feel the need to learn how to spot it. Perhaps the first way to fight and control native advertising is to know how it works -- and very well, apparently. According to outbrain.com, native advertising has been developed as a way to fight ad fatigue. It works but is historically questionable. The question remains: is deceiving a consumer worth the variety?