• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, November 7, 2013

You may wonder what is akin to “native” advertising in the TV world.  You might point to infomercials or branded entertainment activities in any number of reality, drama or comedy programs.

At the recent OMMA Native event, one executive said the daytime soap operas produced by Procter & Gamble are like native advertising – sponsored content that looks and feels like, well, a TV show. Only at the end of those soaps do you see Procter & Gamble’s name associated with the shows.

Native advertising sometimes pretends to be less than advertising, less than hit-you-over-the-head selling. Had P&G had product placements in its soaps for all the decades they’ve been airing? That’s not the point. Running P&G ads in those shows? That’s something else.

Branded entertainment in TV shows -- non-fiction, comedy or drama -- doesn’t really fit the bill either as a direct comparison to what goes on in digital content.

But executives were quick to note that identification is everything for native advertisers in the digital world. That’s good news. The downside is a lack of much consensus in how to label native advertising. A few recommended something on the order of “brought to you by.... “

How far to go with this? A healthy part of the discussion at OMMA Native was about possibly disclosing who is doing the creating – whether former journalists, TV writers, or existing TV professionals.

And who wants to be responsible for content? Journalism has rules.  Journalists who don’t adhere to them will find out fast from potential and existing news consumers. Due diligence, proofreading, fact-checking and copy editing can be a drudgery -- the least fun part of the job. Do brands want to be in that business as well?

Time Inc, The New York Times, CBS News and others have been around for a long time because content has been vetted. Yes, no one is perfect. Mistakes happen and good media will cop to it. Do brands want to work in this sometimes muddy space?

TV doesn’t always have advertising-sponsored, paid-for content that can be readily identified. Yes, we know when there’s a commercial break. But other sponsored content is fuzzy. Some identification, such as “promotional consideration brought to you by...” happens at a end of a show.

Transparency seems to be key -- leveling with TV viewers, readers and digital users about both intent and missteps.