Native Advertising: Formats, Examples and Disclosure Rules

Native ads turn up in familiar places online: a sponsored post in a LinkedIn feed, a "Paid Post" on a newspaper site, a row of "around the web" links under an article, a video that shows up among YouTube search results. Each is paid media made to fit the place where it appears, so it reads like the content around it.

For a marketing leader, the useful questions are practical. Does a native format belong in the media plan? Which format suits the job? And how do you run it so that readers know it is an ad, which in the US is also what the Federal Trade Commission expects?

This guide explains what counts as native advertising and compares the main formats, including native video and in-app ads. It looks at four campaigns on the publishers' own pages and sets out the FTC's labeling rules as a checklist to use before launch.

DisclosureJake Jorgovan is a partner in Fieldtrip, a group of marketing agencies, which is mentioned in this article.

What is native advertising?

Native advertising is paid media designed to match the design, placement and behavior of the content around it. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is the industry body behind the standard definitions. Its Native Advertising Playbook 2.0 (opens in a new tab) (May 2019) describes the aim as paid ads so well fitted to the page "that the viewer feels the ads belong there."

Two ideas in that playbook help a buyer most. First, native covers two different purchases: the ads that distribute content (a post in a feed, a link in a recommendation box) and the paid content itself (a sponsored article or video). Second, the IAB says all of them, including the content, must carry a disclosure that tells the reader they are paid.

The IAB lists other names for the paid content: brand content, sponsored content and custom content. Native ads are always paid. Organic content on a brand's own channels and earned press coverage are not native advertising; paying to promote either through a native placement creates a native distribution ad.

The main native ad formats

The IAB's playbook names three core types. Video and in-app ads are versions of these formats in other media.

In-feed and in-content ads

In-feed ads sit in a stream of posts, stories or products and take on the stream's layout and fonts. The IAB groups the feeds into three kinds: content feeds on publisher and news sites, product feeds on retail sites and app stores, and social feeds. In-content ads sit inside an article, between paragraphs or at the end, styled like the editorial around them.

For a B2B marketer, LinkedIn is the clearest case of in-feed native. Its own product page is titled "Native Advertising: Sponsored Content with LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)". The formats it lists include document, video and carousel ads, Thought Leader Ads that sponsor thought leaders' posts, and article and newsletter ads for long-form content.

Content recommendation ads

These are the boxes of headlines and thumbnails below or beside an article. The IAB lists other names for them (content discovery ads, sponsored content ads, recommendation widgets) and notes that a click always leads to another page, either the advertiser's or another page on the publisher's site. They suit advertisers who want readers to reach an article or offer page of their own.

Labeling matters here. The FTC's guide gives an example of paid recommendation links presented like independent news headlines under a vague heading. Without a clear label, it says, readers are likely to take them for independent stories.

Branded content

Branded content is the paid content itself: an article, interactive feature or video published on the publisher's site in the same format as its journalism, usually made with the publisher's own content studio. The IAB treats it as a native ad type, so it needs a disclosure like any other. A distribution ad, in-feed or recommendation, often points to it.

This format suits a story that needs room: a considered purchase, a brand position, or a subject the reader would want to read about even if no product were in it.

Native video ads

Native video is the same idea applied to video: an ad that appears where people choose what to watch, styled like the videos around it, instead of interrupting a video they already chose. On YouTube, two formats fit that idea. Google's video ad formats page (opens in a new tab) describes in-feed video ads as a thumbnail with some text that invites people to click to watch, shown on the YouTube Home feed, in search results, beside related videos and in the subscription feed. Shorts ads appear between organic Shorts in the Shorts feed and, in Google's words, have "a similar user experience as organic Shorts videos." Skippable in-stream ads, by contrast, play before, during or after another video.

The other form is the sponsored video on a publisher's or creator's channel, made in that channel's style. The FTC's guide covers it with several examples. A sponsored video that looks like the channel's independent content needs a clear disclosure before it plays. When the same video runs in a social feed under the advertiser's name, the guide still expects the disclosure in the video itself, because the video looks like the show's own work.

In-app native ads

In apps, native ads are built from the advertiser's text and images and rendered in the app's own design. Google AdMob's native ads policy (opens in a new tab), written for the app developers who display the ads, says these ads "complement the content and look of your app". It requires a badge that clearly displays "Ad", "Advertisement" or "Sponsored", at least 15 pixels high and wide. An AdChoices icon (or "Ads by Google" where that applies) goes with it, "so that users don't mistake them for content."

What usually does not count

When the IAB updated its playbook in 2019, it cut its list of core native types from six to three. Paid search ads technically meet its definition, but the industry treats search as its own category. Banner units that only add a native element, such as a live weather feed, were dropped as a type. A standard-size banner can still count as native, but only if it is customized to the site's look and placed within its feed of content.

Examples of native advertising campaigns

Each of these campaigns could still be read or watched on the publisher's own site or channel in October 2026, and each shows a different label. The year is given where the page states it.

Netflix in The New York Times (2014)

A reported long-form article about women in US prisons, "Women Inmates: Why the Male Model Doesn't Work", ran as a Paid Post by Netflix (opens in a new tab). Its credits name T Brand Studio, and the page says the Times' news and editorial staff had no role in it. The link to Netflix comes through the subject: it quotes Piper Kerman, whose memoir inspired the series Orange Is the New Black. The label sits above the headline.

Mercedes-Benz in The Washington Post (2017)

Exoskeletons, virtual building sites and human performance fill "The rise of the superhuman (opens in a new tab)", an interactive feature with quizzes. Mercedes-Benz's Driver Assistance Package appears as one example within it. The page is labeled "Content from Mercedes-Benz E-Class Family" and states that it was paid for by an advertiser and published by WP BrandStudio, and that the newsroom was not involved.

Samsung on CNN

David Cowan, an Atlanta-based American Sign Language interpreter, is the subject of "A Sign of the Times (opens in a new tab)", which offers an audio narration. It then turns to the accessibility features of Samsung's televisions, such as enlarging an on-screen sign language interpreter. It runs under the label "Content by Samsung".

DHL and National Geographic (2023)

A National Geographic photographer travels across South Africa reporting on cheetah protection in "The Race to Save Big Cats (opens in a new tab)". The description under the video opens with "Paid Content for DHL."

What the four have in common

Each campaign is built around a subject the publisher's audience would read or watch on its merits, and each ran on the publisher's own site or channel. Samsung and Mercedes-Benz bring product features into the story; Netflix connects through the subject of its series; the DHL video credits its sponsor. The labels differ. Two use the word "paid" ("Paid Post", "Paid Content for DHL"). Two name the brand as the source ("Content from", "Content by"), and the Post adds a line saying an advertiser paid for the page. The FTC's guide sets out which wording readers are likely to understand.

How to label native ads under the FTC's rules

In the US, the FTC set out its position in December 2015 in an Enforcement Policy Statement on Deceptively Formatted Advertisements (opens in a new tab) and a staff guide for businesses (opens in a new tab). The principle is simple: an ad must not mislead people about the fact that it is an ad.

The FTC judges the overall impression an ad gives in its context. Some native ads are so obviously commercial that they may need no specific label; the guide's example is a shoe ad with a slogan on a financial news site. The more an ad resembles the publisher's own content in format and topic, the more likely a clear disclosure is needed. The guide is informal staff guidance and says it is not a safe harbor. Other countries have their own rules, which this guide does not cover.

The FTC has enforced the principle behind the guide. In March 2016, three months after the guide appeared, Lord & Taylor settled FTC charges (opens in a new tab) over a March 2015 campaign: a paid article in the online magazine Nylon, and a Nylon Instagram post, that gave no sign they were paid promotions. According to the FTC, the retailer had edited the article and approved the post's caption. The same complaint covered 50 influencers paid $1,000 to $4,000 each to post the same dress without saying so. In May 2016 the FTC approved a final consent order (opens in a new tab) that bars the company from presenting paid ads as coming from an independent source.

Clear labels make a measurable difference. In a 2017 FTC staff report (opens in a new tab) on an exploratory study of 48 people, run in 2014 and 2015, improved disclosures raised average recognition of search and native ads as ads from about 47% to about 68%. Even with the better labels, the report says a significant percentage of participants still did not recognize some ads.

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Zoom

Original chart of approximate averages in the FTC’s exploratory study of 48 participants, conducted in 2014–2015 and reported in 2017. This is recognition of search and native ads, not purchase intent or a universal disclosure success rate.ftc.gov (opens in a new tab)

Use this pre-launch check for native ads that need a disclosure, and judge the wording and placement in the context of the complete ad:

On wording, the guide is specific. It calls "Promoted" or "Promoted Stories" "at best ambiguous", and says readers may take phrases such as "Sponsored by" or "Presented by" to mean the brand funded the content without shaping it. Where the brand did shape the content, a label that says so is the safer choice. The FTC also notes that it has acted against ad agencies and affiliate networks as well as advertisers.

Does native advertising work?

It depends on the fit between the format, the publisher and the job you give it. No current, independent benchmark for native performance turned up in the research for this guide, so plan to measure your own results.

The IAB's playbook calls native "decidedly and overwhelmingly a form of brand advertising." A consumer study (opens in a new tab) by the IAB and Edelman Berland surveyed 5,000 US readers of news sites in mid-2014. Business and entertainment news readers were highly receptive to in-feed sponsored content when it was relevant, authoritative and trustworthy; general news readers were the least receptive. The study found that well-done sponsored content can add to a site's credibility, and that sponsored content on a site seen as credible was itself seen as 33% more credible. It called the fit between the site and the brand critical, and found the format least useful for generating new brand awareness and most useful for established brands deepening existing relationships or launching brand extensions. The study is dated and comes from the industry, so use it as a set of questions for your own test.

How to decide whether native fits your media plan

1. 1

   Match the format to the job

   A story that needs room to explain a considered purchase points to branded content with a publisher whose audience matches your buyer. Reaching a defined professional audience in a feed points to in-feed formats such as LinkedIn Sponsored Content. Sending readers from publishers' pages to your own article or offer points to content recommendation ads. Video and in-app versions follow the same logic in their own media. If you buy media through an agency, the guide to media buying agencies compares firms that plan and buy it.

2. 2

   Check the placement against the IAB's four questions

   The playbook gives four questions for the ads that carry people to the content, the in-feed and recommendation units. Design: does it match the page or app? Location: is it inside the content feed or outside it? Behavior: does it act like the content around it, or take the reader somewhere new? Disclosure: is it clearly and prominently labeled as paid?

3. 3

   Settle the label before production

   Agree the label before the creative is made, so it can sit above the headline or on the image at a readable size. The FTC's guide warns that people are less likely to notice a label placed below or to the right of the ad.

4. 4

   Make it worth reading

   The research above points the same way: relevant to the reader, credible, and a good fit for the publisher. The IAB study's authors also concluded that the best in-feed sponsored content tells a story, so choose a subject the publisher's readers would want on its own merits and let the product appear inside it.

5. 5

   Run it as a test and match the measure to the job

   In a 2021 episode of my podcast I described how I think about any marketing channel: test a few ideas for about three months and look for early signs that one is working. Then build a system around it and scale it until it reaches saturation. As I said then, "most companies that are successful have one or two marketing channels that work really, really well for them." For a native test, choose one format and one audience and agree the outcome before launch. Review the first results after about a quarter, then decide whether to scale, adjust or stop. The IAB calls native mainly brand advertising, so pick a measure that fits the job. For a brand story, that is what the target audience thinks of the brand; for a traffic campaign, engaged visits and the next step; for a lead campaign, qualified inquiries and their cost.

Frequently asked questions

Are native ads paid?

Yes. Native advertising is always paid media. What sets it apart is the format: the ad matches the design and behavior of the page, feed or app it appears in.

What is another name for native advertising?

Sponsored content, branded content or custom content for the paid content itself, and content recommendation or content discovery ads for the boxes of links under articles. Publishers use their own labels, such as "Paid Post" or "Content from" followed by the brand.

Are promoted listings native advertising?

Yes. The IAB treats promoted listings on retail and marketplace sites as in-feed native ads, because they appear in the product feed in the same format as the products around them.

Are Google search ads native ads?

Usually not. The IAB says paid search ads technically meet its definition of native, but the industry treats search as its own category. On YouTube, in-feed video ads and Shorts ads appear among the videos people choose from or scroll through, which is the native idea applied to video.

How do you spot native advertising?

Look for a label near the headline or on the image: "Ad", "Advertisement", "Sponsored", "Paid Post" or "Content from" a brand. On recommendation boxes, Outbrain's own explainer (opens in a new tab) tells readers to look for the network's icon and a "Sponsored" mark.

Is native advertising ethical?

It can be, when readers can tell it is an ad. The FTC's test is whether the format misleads people about the content's commercial nature. The FTC judges the disclosure by whether readers actually understand, in the context of the whole ad, that it is paid. A clear label placed where people look first and kept wherever the ad travels is how its guide expects advertisers to get there.