Native Advertising and Listicles

 Remington Johnson

rj045518@ohio.edu

For a long time, ads appeared on the internet in rather annoying ways. Pop-ups, banner ads, 15 second ads before a YouTube video starts. These types of ads get in the way of the content people want to see, but with native advertising, advertisers can deliver their content in ways that seem to fit right into the normal flow of a website.

One way for native advertising to nest its way into regular reading is through sponsored content in listicles. Listicles are articles formatted to be like a list. They are typically associated with clickbait and being generally thin in terms of content. 

For this blogpost, I wanted to look at two different listicles and the ethics of how they handle this sponsored content. The first comes from BuzzFeed, perhaps the king of listicles. 

A screenshot of one of the products mentioned in Buzzfeed's listicle.

"Just 37 Things to Gift Yourself Already Because You Deserve It" is a listicle focused on items that are typically bought as gifts for others, but with the angle that the viewer should buy it for themselves as a form of self care. At the top of the article Buzzfeed includes a disclosure that reads "we hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Just so you know, BuzzFeed may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the link on this page if you decide to shop from them." This disclosure is in relatively small font, but is bold and italicized. I think that it is a good, pretty obvious disclosure, but it does come with a problem. In the rest of the article, there is no indication which links in the list provide compensation to BuzzFeed. I think that this is not appropriate disclosure and that the items in the list should indicate if purchasing them through the link would support BuzzFeed.

For the second Listicle, I wanted to look at a listicle from CNN. Specifically, this listicle comes from the CNN section called Underscored, which is used by CNN for their sponsored content.

A screenshot of one of the products mentioned in CNN's listicle.

"Editors' picks: 24 things our editors tested and loved in October" is a listicle focused around items that the CNN Underscored editors tested and enjoyed in October. A disclosure is included at the top of the article which reads "CNN Underscored is your guide to the everyday products and services that help you live  a smarter, simpler, and more fulfilling life. The content is created by CNN Underscored. CNN News staff is not involved. When you make a purchase, we receive revenue." This disclosure is included at the top of the page in small font that is not emphasized in anyway. While it doesn't stand out as much as the BuzzFeed disclosure contextually on the page, I do feel as if it is showing that CNN is taking a more ethical approach overall. The disclosure makes sure to delineate between the CNN Underscored staff and the site's overall news staff. It also informs the reader that every item in the listicle generates revenue from CNN.

It's clear by looking at these two different listicles and how they handle sponsored content that more could be done to ensure that the reader understands the content is sponsored. In CNN's case, I feel as if the disclosure is not obvious. In Buzzfeed's case, I feel as if the disclosure does not provide enough information, especially when combined with the content of the rest of the article. Perhaps somewhere in the middle of the two lies a sponsored listicle that can properly inform the reader about its sponsorship.