As my supervisor and I were discussing a
new sponsorship for the event, I stumbled across an interesting word -
ADVERTORIAL.
In my majors as Public Relations and
Marketing, we always use the word ‘advertisement’ and ‘editorial’, but not the
two combined.
As we all know, Advertisement is a paid announcement to promote or sell a product
or service, the advertiser has full control in the way that information is
presented.
Editorial is an article
that reflects the opinion of the writer, it is often harder to control and may
backfire for the product or the organization.
Advertorial is a combination of both terms – a paid advertisement written in
editorial style and format, which promotes or presents a distinct positive
opinion on a particular product/service. It is most commonly used in fashion
magazines, however it is also present in other medias.
This raises some controversy in the office.
Some of the consultants disagree with this type of advertising. They perceived
it as a deceptive type of advertising.
In PR lectures we often learn about
‘ethics’ - is advertorial ethically
correct? What do you think? Should we be allowed to use ‘advertorial’ or stick
to the traditional terms of ‘advertisement’ and ‘editorial’?
1 comment:
This is such an interesting point and has really got me thinking about a lot of the advertising and promotion we do at my work. I wonder how different this is to when a journalist comes to review a band or a fashion show? Do we not make sure they are well taken care of? Bar cards provided? The best seat in the house? How is this not the same thing?
Very interesting point, and very clear that there is no clear and precise line between ethical and unethical behaviour. Maybe it is just in the eye of the beholder?
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