History Main / AdvertisingDisguisedAsNews

There is an innovative new method advertisers are using to get their message across. Rather than placing promotional material in the commercial breaks of a show, they are integrating it directly into the show itself, through a new process known as Advertising Disguised As News by TropeCo/TropeCo. We talked to its CEO to learn more; "In this process, we have multiple ways of doing it. We can produce promotional content that looks and feels exactly like something you would see on a local newscast, or we can provide scripts and other materials to be used by the broadcaster that gets an advertiser's message across without disrupting the format of the program. Or, we can simply send a representative from the brand to appear on the show, so they can interact with hosts and other personalities." It is expected that this revolutionary process will become more popular as advertisers realize that they can now present a more "in-depth" portrayal of their product or service than what can be done through a traditional commercial.

* This is the modus operandi of the locally-produced, daytime lifestyle shows seen on some TV stations in the U.S., in which local businesses pay to have their employees or spokesperson appear as "guests" to plug their products in barely-disguised {{Infomercial}} segments. These shows are almost always produced by a station's creative services or sales department and kept separated from their actual news departments. Examples include the UrExample that is literally called ''Daytime'' (produced by Tampa's Nexstar-owned NBC affiliate WFLA. Some of their other stations, especially those owned by predecessors Media General and LIN, air similar shows), ''The Morning Blend'' (used by the now Scripps-owned Journal Broadcast Group stations; Scripps' ABC station WFTS in Tampa recently launched its own version to [[DuelingShows compete]] with ''Daytime''), WKBW's ''AM Buffalo'' (they're also owned by Scripps, but this program was carried over from its Granite ownership), and Meredith's syndicated ''Better'', which could have local cut-ins and co-brandings of this nature, a la ''Evening Magazine''.

-> ''"The Internet is Advertising Park. We built a wonderful place with amazing technology and thought we could pay for it by keeping advertising safely behind borders where people could look at it and maybe sometimes pet its pretty fur. But the advertising has broken loose now, eating and shitting on everything. These consumervores are clever. Some sneak up on their prey by disguising themselves as real articles."''

!Examples

* This one for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIIM8rw0au8 OnStar's remote vehicle slowdown feature]] carries all the hallmarks of a video news release.
* One of the most infamous political examples in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates came in 2004 when multiple TV stations aired video news releases from the U.S. government that were produced and anchored by an apparent Washington reporter named Karen Ryan, which pushed propaganda for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBze5atYyCo Medicare]] and the country's education system without any indication of its true source. The General Accounting Office did point out that it's illegal to use federal funds for "publicity or propaganda purposes" without the permission of Congress.
* The UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}} magazine programme ''Rated K'' is infamous for this, shoehorning advertorials for dietary supplements of questionable efficacy, or beauty products, into episodes pertaining to a specific theme, complete with liberal use of adverbs "umano" (Tagalog for "allegedly") or "daw" (apparently), along with the usual testimonials from people who, ''umano'', benefited from the products. Don't be surprised if an advert for the supplement shows up immediately during the commercial break. The evening news programme ''TV Patrol'' egregiously played this straight as well, often weaving it into Creator/KimAtienza's trivia segments.

* The most literal example comes from infomercials that mimic the look and feel of a news interview show. ''Larry King Live'' is a popular target; in fact, King ''himself'' was tapped to do an infomercial just like that (blatantly labeled in program guides as ''[[NonIndicativeName Larry King Special Report]]'') for a ''joint medication.''
* ''Series/MediaWatch'' increasingly highlights how newspapers, becoming increasingly desperate for advertising revenue, are printing what are basically commercials that look like editorial content. The same goes for when evening newscasts do segments that turn out to be advertising.
* There are some stations that actually present ads for local car dealers live as stories during weekend morning newscasts.
* In UsefulNotes/{{China}}, some ads ran what looked like a [[http://hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/the_sibuxiang_beast urgent news report,]] saying that the "Sibuxiang Beast," a mythical creature, was real, and attacking civilians in a city. Much like ''Radio/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' broadcast, people freaked out, and the ad maker was fined.
* Brand Power and [=MediFacts=] are marketing groups that run ads that have the feel of news-bytes, completely with a newsy-sounding musical opening. Another more recent one called Local Steals and Deals follows a similar format, skipping the newsy-sounding opening but nevertheless slipping itself into ad-breaks on newscasts and mimicking the feel of a news report.

* In December 2017, the FCC proposed a $13.3 million fine against Sinclair Broadcast Group for having aired content paid for by the Huntsman Cancer Institute without disclosure.

* Fast food restaurants and snack food companies have figured out a nice little hack to get free advertising on local newscasts: make a new, limited-time product with a gimmicky flavor, issue press releases about it, then sit back and watch as newscasts add it as one of their lighthearted "kicker" stories at the end of the show. Wacky new flavors of Oreos or Lays potato chips or oddball items briefly offered at KFC, Burger King or Dunkin Donuts are very frequent culprits.

* Taboola is a service that provides links at the end of pages on news websites, ranging from actual links to other articles to nonsensical clickbait such as "Wardrobe Malfunctions That Actually Made It Into Films" (real example) to outright advertising, all mixed together in one big stew. Taboola isn't the only chumbox ad provider, as there's another one called "Outbrain" and, sometimes, they're on the same webpage.
* While the opening of new businesses within a local area is newsworthy, articles about them can fall victim to this. One such is [[https://www.whio.com/news/local/new-businesses-are-coming-popular-area-shopping-center/GLbx15YQxukIelgieVwttN/ this here]], which talks about four new businesses opening in a shopping center, but also unnecessarily copies advertising patter like talking about how a particular company is a "...leader in sleep innovation, improves lives by individualizing sleep experiences with a variety of mattresses, bases and bedding essentials."

* Many modern articles about common computer issues (such as low storage or driver difficulties) or how to do certain tricks (such as recording the screen or transcribing [=PDFs=]) are barely-disguised plugs for whatever company is hosting the article, with shameless plugs for their products at the end of lists of legitimate alternatives.

* Fast food restaurants and snack food companies have figured out a nice little hack to get free advertising on local newscasts: make a new product with a novel flavor, issue press releases about it, then sit back and watch as newscasts add it as one of their lighthearted "kicker" stories at the end of the show. Wacky new flavors of Oreos or Lays potato chips or oddball items briefly offered at KFC, Burger King or Dunkin Donuts are very frequent culprits.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIi_QS1tdFM Discussed]] in an episode of ''Series/LastWeekTonight'' -- which duped multiple local daytime shows into airing paid segments for a fake sexual improvement blanket called the "Venus Veil".

** By the 2020's, when sports betting began to see wider legalization in the United States and Canada, bookmakers (including the aforementioned [=DraftKings=] and its competitor, [=FanDuel=]) began to invade sports broadcasts and programs with similarly-sponsored segments focusing on sports news from a betting perspective, inevitably containing odds and plugs from the company that sponsors it.

* The UsefulNotes/LasVegas version of the aforementioned ''Morning Blend'' was notably duped by the satirical reality series ''Series/NathanForYou'' in 2015, when it aired a bizarre paid interview with the creator of a new exercise program book called ''The Movement'', which involves moving boxes. It was inspired by his volunteer work with jungle children, which, for the record, are [[ShapedLikeItself children who live in the jungle]].

* Many modern "tech support" websites will write articles about common computer issues (such as low storage or driver difficulties) where the top solution is a barely-disguised plug for one of their own products rather than anything likely to already be on someone's device.

** By the 2020's, when sports betting began to see wider legalization in the United States and Canada, bookmakers (including the aforementioned [=DraftKings=] and its competitor, [=FanDuel=] began to invade sports broadcasts and programs with sponsored segments focusing on sports news from a betting perspective, inevitably containing odds and plugs from the company that sponsors it.

* The now-discontinued ''Yummy'' magazines in the Philippines, which are basically periodical cookbooks, often featured recipes that were actually ads for certain food products. Said products (and usually [[Dualvertisement other products made by the same company]]) were always ingredients in these "bonus" recipes.

* Fashion and lifestyle magazines published in the United States (like ''Lucky'', ''Cosmo'', ''Seventeen'', etc...) freely run advertisements that at first glance appear to be one-page features. These advertorials have titles like "10 Essential Items for Your Summer Wardrobe," "Fall In Love With Your Hair This Holiday Season," or "5 Dieting Tricks That Will Blow Your Mind." Some even take the form of interviews with average women (mothers, beauty bloggers, etc...) who only want to talk about the product in question. This "branded content" is required to have a text disclaimed somewhere on the page declaring that it's not an unbiased editorial, usually something along the lines of "This is a Paid Advertisement" or "Promotional Feature" (but only in tiny print at the very bottom of the page.)
** This can sometimes be recognised if the advertorial's layout or art style appears inconsistent with the magazine or periodical's layout.

* You won't believe what trope that online articles colloquially known as "Clickbait" fall under...
** In fact, even before "clickbait" and "fake news" were common terms, there had been banner ads leading to fake news articles (often for things such as açaí berries as dietary supplements), aping the style of local news websites, and featuring logos of TV shows and networks that provided "endorsements" of them.