Journalism, Independent and Not - NYTimes.com

In other advertising + publishing innovation news, see E-Book Mingles Love and Product Placement (NYT)

"Of the many attempts at new approaches to publishing — native advertising, custom content, sponsored content — SugarString sets a new low. It was a bad idea with a pratfall of a rollout, a transparent attempt to project brand might into a very controversial conversation. The fact that the name of the corporation bringing you the information is at the bottom of every story, not the top, is an attempt to hide the fundamental intent.

“I think they overlooked the first rule of storytelling, which is to not deceive the reader,” said Shane Snow, the co-founder of Contently, which helps brands produce media of their own. “The exposure they were seeking ended up being negative.”"

Journalism, Independent and Not - NYTimes.com