What is an advertorial? Meaning, examples and the rules
An ad in an article's clothes. It works when it's useful and clearly labelled.
Facts checked 15 Oct 2026 · by the AdSworn team
An advertorial is a paid ad written and laid out like an article in the publication that carries it. The name joins advertisement and editorial. In the US, the FTC treats a sponsored article that promotes the sponsor's products as an ad, so it needs a clear label such as "Advertisement" or "Sponsored Advertising Content" that readers see before they read. Online, the modern versions are a sponsored page (a whole labelled article about you) and a sponsored post (a labelled briefing inside an existing article).
Advertorial meaning
An advertorial is an advertisement in the form of editorial content. It uses the publication's fonts, layout and article structure, but the advertiser pays for it and usually shapes what it says. It runs in print magazines, newspapers and websites. The FTC calls the wider category native advertising: ads formatted to match the news, features or reviews around them. See what is native advertising for the bigger picture.
Why brands buy them: an article can explain a product in a way a banner can't. It can answer the questions a buyer has, show how something works, and sit in front of readers who chose that topic.
The FTC's labelling rules
The FTC's guide to native advertising applies the same truth-in-advertising standard to advertorials as to any ad, and judges the net impression: the words and the format together. An article-style ad can be deceptive even when every product claim in it is true, if readers can't tell it's an ad.
- Clear labels: the FTC lists "Ad", "Advertisement", "Paid Advertisement" and "Sponsored Advertising Content" as clear.
- Labels to avoid: "Promoted" and "Promoted Stories" can suggest the publisher endorses the content. "Presented by" or "Sponsored by" can signal only that a sponsor funded content it didn't write.
- Placement: in front of or above the headline, and on the image if the image is the draw.
- Before the click: readers must recognise the ad before they click into it, not only after they arrive.
- Everyone shares it: agencies and others who help create or place the ad share responsibility for it being identifiable.
The guide also notes that a sponsored article promoting no products may not be an ad at all, though it can still carry a sponsorship credit. Links inside paid content should carry rel="sponsored", which Google describes as the value for "advertisements or paid placements". The detail for online posts is in sponsored post disclosure rules.
Advertorial vs sponsored post vs editorial
| Advertorial | Sponsored post | Editorial | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who pays | The advertiser | The advertiser | Nobody: the publication chooses it |
| What it is | A whole article about the advertiser | A labelled section about the sponsor inside an existing article | The publication's own reporting or review |
| Who writes it | The advertiser, or the publication for them | Written with the sponsor, approved by the publisher | The publication |
| Label | Required, e.g. "Advertisement" | Required, e.g. "Sponsored post" | None |
| Readers it reaches | Whoever finds the new article | The readers the article already gets | Whoever finds it |
The trade-off: an advertorial gives you a whole page to make your case, but it's a new page that has to earn its readers. A sponsored post is shorter, but it lands in front of the readers an article already gets from Google. More on the second in what is a sponsored post.
Advertorial examples
Described, not copied. These are the common forms, each with a made-up advertiser:
- The print feature: a full magazine page laid out like a feature on morning routines, with a coffee brand's product in every photo and "Advertisement" across the top.
- The special section: a newspaper pull-out on home improvement, written for local contractors, marked as a special advertising section on every page.
- The online native article: a news site story titled like a how-to guide, labelled "Sponsored Advertising Content" above the headline, written for a software company.
- The sponsored page: a full page on a design blog explaining how a made-up design subscription works and what it costs, labelled Sponsored, with links marked rel="sponsored".
- The sponsored post: two short paragraphs about the same made-up subscription inside the blog's existing "best logo makers" article, labelled "Sponsored post".
What the good ones share: they answer a real question the reader has, state facts the reader can check, and wear the label at the top. What the bad ones share: a hidden label, claims the publisher can't stand behind, and a tone that pretends to be the publication's own opinion.
The modern advertorial on AdSworn
AdSworn sells both forms on sites that already rank for what you sell, and every listing shows its traffic read from Google Search Console and Google Analytics, with the searches that bring its readers.
- Sponsored page, from $1,000: a whole new page about you on a site that ranks for what you sell. AI drafts it, you edit it, the publisher approves and posts it, labelled Sponsored. It stays live at least 12 months; if it comes down sooner, AdSworn puts it back up or moves it to a matching site, free. Paid once.
- Sponsored post, orders from $75 for 12 weeks or $150 a year: a briefing about you inside an existing article that ranks, labelled "Sponsored post" in the page's HTML, where AI assistants read it too, checked daily.
- The rules built in: the label is in the page's HTML, links are rel="sponsored", and the publisher approves facts about you. The post never claims the site uses or tested your product.
You pay nothing until the site approves, AdSworn holds payment until the ad is verified live, and you get a full refund if it never runs. AdSworn never sells or promises search rankings or SEO backlinks.
Straight answers
What is an advertorial?
A paid advertisement written and laid out like an article in the publication that carries it. The word joins advertisement and editorial. It must be clearly labelled as an ad.
Do advertorials have to be labelled?
In the US, yes, when they promote the sponsor's products. The FTC's native advertising guide names "Ad", "Advertisement", "Paid Advertisement" and "Sponsored Advertising Content" as clear labels, placed where readers see them before reading.
What's the difference between an advertorial and a sponsored post?
An advertorial is a whole article about the advertiser. A sponsored post is a labelled section about the sponsor inside an article the publisher already runs, so it reaches that article's existing readers.
Is an advertorial the same as native advertising?
An advertorial is one kind of native advertising. Native advertising is any paid content formatted to look like the content around it, including sponsored articles, in-feed ads and recommendation widgets.
How much does an advertorial cost?
Prices are set by each publication. On AdSworn, a sponsored page (a whole labelled page on a site that ranks) starts at $1,000, live at least 12 months, and sponsored post orders start at $75 for 12 weeks.