The first advertisements I found in the almanacs of the Barcelona Diary They date from 1878. "Dr. Andreu's Chest Paste," recommended for all types of coughs and asthma attacks; J. and P. Coats's yarns; Dr. Ayer's "Sarsaparilla Extract," "to purify the blood of eruptions, tumors, hives, boils, spots, herpes, etc."; "Sallés Catalan Vermouth," the first made in Spain; Singer sewing machines; and a considerable variety of doctors specializing in venereal diseases.
Print advertising has a long and rich tradition, and a wealth of analytical and pragmatic theory. But we're still in the early stages of digital advertising, although it's recently become fashionable. EU fines on Google Partly related to the advertising issue, which underpins powerful, free IT services. At the local level, the Ombudsman has received mixed reviews from readers complaining about intrusive, even mandatory, advertising used to access mobile games.
Subscribers Georgina Dalmau and Maria Cinta Comet criticize the toll of pre-game advertising. A couple of comments. Dalmau says: "We already receive too much advertising input for you guys to join in." And Comet: "I know that with subscriptions and newspaper sales, it's not possible to sustain a publication and we have to resort to advertising to balance the books. But we have to put up with so much advertising when reading different media and networks that we're more than fed up."
Vicenç Viñas addresses the relationship between journalism and advertising: "For a few weeks now, some articles in the app have featured an ad in the background, over which the text scrolls. Although as a reader, it's not a very convenient system because the ad doesn't allow for continuous reading, the problem comes from the fact that the article is left without a header and some lines disappear. And, above all, is it more respectful of the integrity of the text?"
I have forwarded the complaints to the management team because the issue is complex and goes beyond one person. They respond with this: "If you are a subscriber, and you have correctly activated the login (which is always easier if you read the newspaper through the app), advertising is greatly minimized, though not entirely. ARA still needs advertising revenue to support the free and independent journalism we provide, with more than a hundred professionals working every day. If you're not a subscriber and you access free content, such as games, you are indeed exposed to more advertising.
I've asked for a general opinion that places the reader in Anna Valli, with an extensive professional resume –head of marketing at IA Mosaic Factor– and academic resume –professor of the master's degree in strategic planning for advertising and public relations at the Faculty of Communication at the UAB–. Valli explains: "Advertising in digital print media has evolved towards increasingly integrated forms within editorial content, generating an intense debate about its invasive nature. According to the study on the perception of advertising in the media by the Spanish Association of Advertisers, this integration can alter the perception of journalistic information, since the reader
Current strategies, such as branded content or native ads, seek a subtle but effective advertising immersion, taking advantage of the trust readers place in the medium. This coexistence of information and advertising, as well as mass personalization and algorithmic segmentation, have transformed digital advertising into an omnipresent and, in many cases, intrusive experience.
The professor then emphasizes a recurring theme in our profession, one that is included in the Code of Ethics and that we have already discussed in this section: "The problem worsens when sponsored content adopts an editorial format, blurring the lines between journalism and marketing. Academic research suggests that this practice can compromise the credibility of the medium and the practice. Furthermore, advertising saturation can generate user rejection, negatively affecting the reading experience and loyalty. In this context, innovation in advertising formats must be compatible with communicative ethics and editorial transparency."
The interesting view of advertisers is also highlighted: "From the point of view of the advertising industry, the integration of advertising within the editorial content of digital media represents a strategic opportunity to connect with increasingly fragmented and demanding audiences. Companies especially value the branded content and native formats because they allow brand values and commercial messages to be conveyed in a context of trust, leveraging the medium's credibility. According to various studies, this approach can improve brand perception and increase purchase intent, as long as the message remains transparent and relevant.
However, the sector is aware of the risk posed by advertising perceived as invasive. The saturation of commercial content can generate rejection and negatively affect the reputation of both the advertiser and the media. Therefore, many brands are embracing strategies based on communicative responsibility, ethical segmentation, and co-creation of content with publishers. Advertising innovation, in this sense, must not only seek effectiveness, but also respect the user experience and the quality of information." He concludes: "Thus, the challenge for the advertising industry is to find the balance between visibility and discretion, between impact and integrity, contributing to a sustainable and transparent media ecosystem."
After this argument ofauctoritasThe Ombudsman can only add that it's possible that the intrusion of ads into digital reading is a product of the print media's placement on audiovisual media, which has always coexisted with advertising—often invasive, yes, but accepted as inherent. In this sense, the communication ecosystem will have to reinvent itself based on practice: advertisers and the media will have to work together—as Professor Valli notes—to find the best formula with the fewest side effects.
Now, in the present indicative, the newspaper must be prepared to detect unwanted technological excesses, such as the one reported by reader Viñas, and respond swiftly to minimize collateral damage. And, whatever the case, we'll always have paper to choose whether to read an ad or skip it. Meanwhile, I see that almost a century and a half after the Brusi advertisement, Dr. Andreu's pills are still on the market, and Coca-Cola has registered sarsaparilla in the global village.
The Readers' Ombudsman pays attention to doubts, suggestions, criticisms and complaints about the contents of the newspaper in its digital and paper editions, and ensures that the treatment of information is in accordance with the codes of ethics.
By contact the Readers' Ombudsman You can send an email to eldefensor@ara.cat or record a message of no more than one minute on WhatsApp at 653784787. In all cases, identification with your name, surname, and ID number is required.
