Elvis impersonators don’t need disclaimers. They’re not fooling anyone, not even the impersonators who are gifted enough to leave fans in sweaty goose bumps after a guttural dose of `hunka-hunka burnin’ love.’
In fact, the better they are at being not who they really are, the more credible they are.
But in the world of mimicry, there’s one place where a commercial masquerade won’t work: the news page. There, deception can kill credibility.
That’s why some advertising – particularly “advertorial” content, advertising that tries to look like news – must be labeled as “Advertisement,” “Paid advertisement” or “Advertising supplement.”
Without such truthful labeling, a newspaper risks a potentially lethal breach of readers’ trust.
It’s a gruesome situation to encounter, as the `Star-Telegram was reminded recently when an oversight resulted in the loss of a “Paid advertisement” disclaimer on a full-page ad that resembled a news page.
The full-page ad was not bordered as required to separate it from actual news content, and it carried what appeared to be four news items, two of which suggested bizarre local news developments: “Fort Worth Man Sets Wife on Fire” and “Man Foams At Mouth, Bites Dog.” The items supplemented information about a hearing-aid sale advertised below them.
Readers and `Star-Telegram staff alike complained when they saw the ad.
Among them was Wesley R. Turner, `Star-Telegram president and publisher.
Initially, he said, “the ad concerned me because the headline [suggested] a very serious event – `Man sets woman on fire,’ ” Turner said. “It was meant to be shocking. Men have been convicted for setting women on fire.”
But an even deeper concern was the sight of an advertorial that had gotten through the production process unbordered and unlabeled.
“Our goal is to earn the people’s trust daily,” Turner said. “When we do anything, whether it be news or advertising, that causes them to question their trust of us, it is a problem. If readers don’t trust us to not mislead them, they are not going to read us or take us very seriously.”
Newspaper readers, particularly longtime readers, may question or criticize a newspaper, but they still tend to believe what they read. And it’s that atmosphere of reader trust that advertisers prize.
Tom Ingram, associate professor in advertising in the University of Texas at Arlington communications department, explains that “advertisers seek, and historically have sought, [placement in] newspapers to enhance the credibility of their products.”
Published on news pages, advertising inherits a measure of reader trust, Ingram said. There’s a bonus for advertorial content. Mimicking news engages readers’ perception of trustworthiness, lending a burst of impact and credibility to the ad.
But it’s not news, and the `Star-Telegram tries to help readers make that distinction.
News stories examine developments from positive and negative angles in an attempt to provide balanced, unbiased coverage, said Jim Witt, senior vice president and executive editor. “Advertisers, of course, want to put the best face possible on their product.”
Vincent Coppola, editor of `Adweek”s Southwest and Southeast editions, notes that “people who work in [advertising and public relations] agencies put all their energy and intelligence and faith in selling whatever brand they represent.”
Advertising aims to persuade and sell. News aims to inform and explain. It all exists in a symbiotic relationship that depends on a credible setting, Ingram said.
When readers are served well, everyone’s served well, and the `Star-Telegram earns advertising revenue. As Witt points out, advertising “provides the `Star-Telegram with most of our revenue. Without advertising, we’d probably have to charge about $5 for a copy of the paper.”
`Star-Telegram sales representatives are taught about all of that, Turner said.
“We try to train our advertising reps, when they first join us, about the types of advertising that we don’t accept and certain conditions that must be followed. Most of all, we rely on them to use good judgment.”
The recent incident with the full-page advertorial led to a review session. Afterward, Turner offered a candid assessment.
“I have met with the leadership of the advertising department to make sure that all of our folks know not to let this happen again,” Turner said. “But I can tell you from experience that it probably will. When you have almost 300 people selling advertising, things will go wrong.”
