By Carla Harrington
At least one good thing came out of the hoopla over the Church of Scientology advertorial that ran, briefly, on The Atlantic website: it provided the perfect lead in to this post.
An advertorial is a paid advertisement that looks very much like an article or editorial. Usually the words Special Advertising Section or Sponsor Content or a similar disclaimer are printed nearby.
Advertorials can be effective when they are written and designed in a style that is similar to the publications and online sites that carry them. You have 100 percent control over the content. And from a publisher’s point of view, they can provide an important channel of revenue.
Advertorials, however, have their nuances. One is matching their writing and design style to the publisher’s. Several of our associates have experience with this, working with publishers and advertisers to produce quality special sections.
As the Scientology uproar illustrates in a negative way, an advertorial’s message must also blend well with the editorial tone of the publication. A Scientology advertorial on The Atlantic website? That’s a terrible mismatch. For more on the Scientology advertorial backlash, click here.
Many advertorials do get it right, like the Sky advertorial in Vanity Fair and the Hiscox advertorial in Fast Company
On a related note, I’ve been reading a lot lately about “native advertising.” Is it the social media equivalent of advertorials? Even after reading this interesting column by Todd Wasserman of Mashable, the term confuses me.
Advertising + Editorial = Advertorial: now that’s a mash-up I understand.
