
The Federal Trade Commission spent a full day yesterday, listening to 22 representatives from publishing, technology and academia to tackle that most thorny of questions: How to label native advertising.
There were arguments on all sides, with one academic even suggesting the need to study how the eye’s fovea perceives various labeling. Publishers hedged, they cautioned against the dreaded “one-size-fits-all” approach since native ads can apparently vary so widely. That’s why there is a BrandVoice on Forbes, Featured Partners on BuzzFeed, “From Around the Web” from Outbrain, “You May Like” from Tablooa, and so on.
Coincidentally, most also paid fealty to paid search listings, hailed as the original native ad format: a form of content, perfectly suited to the environment, and found genuinely useful to consumers who click away to the tune of billions for Google’s coffers. Perhaps then the industry should keep it simple and cast its gaze on how Google has settled on labeling this “native” format:
More in Media

Amid ban uncertainty, TikTok’s role in brands’ social presences has decreased
Even if TikTok finds a path forward in the U.S., brands and agencies that were previously focused on the platform have learned that this approach is vulnerable to the whims of platforms and regulators.

Digiday+ Research: Subscriptions and events gain steam among publishers’ most significant sources of revenue
Direct-sold ads continue to be the dominant source of publishers’ revenue as we move out of the first quarter. But other revenue sources are gaining in importance, particularly subscriptions and events.

Media Briefing: Apple News ad monetization still ‘abysmal’ for some
Publishers still can’t make meaningful ad revenue from Apple News despite its push to sell more ad inventory.