We’ve all scrolled through social media and come across a witty post shared by a friend. Perhaps it references a favourite TV show, or speaks to your current mood. If you were intrigued enough to click on it, you may have been surprised to discover it’s actually an ad for fast food, fashion or even gambling.
Such ads, with no apparent connection to the product and which are not overtly trying to sell you something, are called content marketing. The UK Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has recently decided that most content marketing ads fall under its regulations. While this decision was in relation to gambling specifically, an ASA spokesperson provided the following statement to The Conversation:
