It's not discretely at the bottom of the page or off to the side. It's smack dab in the center of their page. As I was scrolling through articles I was forced to consider Norvo Nordisk.
From NPR:
- The world of digital sponsorship is changing rapidly, and many publishers are choosing to blur the lines between editorial and advertising. At NPR, we fundamentally think it is critical for our audience, our sponsors, and our editorial integrity that this distinction remains completely clear.
Several times a month, a new space, we are calling 'Center Stage,' will replace our standard sponsorship banners and display just below our top news stories on the NPR.org home page. Unlike on other news sites, this larger style of sponsorship will never overlap editorial content, and we will always clearly note the sponsorship nature of the space.
The ad looks very much like the rest of the page and could easily be confused as editorial content. I have nothing against Norvo Nordisk, but while scrolling through the home page of a site I help pay for both as a tax payer and with my own personal donations, I'd rather not have to encounter this.
Calling the place where you place your "ads" center stage also tells me what's important to you as a site. How about we continue to put the journalism and editorial content center stage?!
Oh, and bring back Neal Conan and Talk of the Nation while you're at it.
End rant