Advertising Standards Authority rules article and video on Telegraph.co.uk did not make it clear they had been paid for

The Telegraph has been reprimanded by the advertising watchdog for failing to adequately label an online advertorial for Michelin tyres.

The Advertising Standards Authority said the article and video on Telegraph.co.uk, which compared Michelin tyres with an unnamed budget brand, were misleading and did not make it clear they had been paid for.

The Telegraph argued that visual and written cues, such as the words “in association with Michelin” indicated there was a financial arrangement. However, the ASA said the labelling was “insufficient to identify the content specifically as an ad” rather than sponsored editorial, over which the newspaper retained control.

Labelling of sponsored and paid-for articles is becoming an increasingly thorny issue for publishers, which have turned to “native” advertising that looks like editorial to compensate for falling revenues from traditional print and display advertising online.

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Online-only publishers such as BuzzFeed have focused heavily on paid-for articles and many have strict guidelines on how to ensure readers are aware they are seeing an ad. However, there is still uncertainty about what constitutes adequate labelling.

The ASA said the content could not be run again in its current form and Michelin should make further ads obviously identifiable as paid for with labelling other than “sponsored” or “in association with”. However, it did not specify what labelling should be used in future.

The watchdog also found that claims in the article and video that premium tyres – identifiable as those made by Michelin – would improve safety and performance in wet weather were not fully substantiated.