Friday, June 24, 2016

Native Advertising In The Age of Brexit

Native advertising is a type of disguised advertising, usually online, 
that matches the form and function of the platform upon which it appears.

Here are a couple examples of the evolution of native advertising over the last few weeks:

May 26 
Is the atomic weight of cobalt 58.9?
...Is this an egregious attempt at native advertising for Camp Alphaville? You betcha.
Note the self-awareness, the self-conscious pointing out of what once was almost considered an ethical transgression. Compare with:

June 24
We’ve reloaded the Brexit research pack in the Long Room…
It’s on the Strategists table, in the usual place.

The Long Room is our virtual library, reserved for finance professionals. Membership is free, but you have to fill out a form here and wait for us to ok your application.

Applications are processed quicker if you’ve bought a ticket for Camp Alphaville – which is happening in London on Friday, July 1....MORE
The brazen "Bloody hell, I suppose I'll have to secure the property and keep the whole damn edifice afloat myself" subtext comes screaming through.

Or maybe that's just me.

On the other hand, the good news is, as the WaPo's Joel Achenbach said:

(Rule one of blogging is that the End Of The World will be good for page views.)