Integrated Advertising?

It's a magazines dream situation; advertising and content all in one place. The magazine gets content and revenue, and the product gets stealthy, and possibly convincing, exposure. Take for example the shaving cream below. This article is written about all the amazing chemicals and what they do in a particular can of shaving cream. The stated concept is about the miracles of chemistry. The hidden one is that it's a particular brand that, after reading the article, you might appreciate and want to buy it.



Advertisers already work hard to make ads entertaining so that they grab your attention. Several years ago ads were being made to look like articles and apparently that caused such a stir, they are now required to put "advertisement" on the top and bottom of the ad. But this is the next step. The magazine itself writes the article and kinda hides the ad in the context of the article. I don't believe in this article, the name of the cream was mentioned, but clearly, the photo shows it. Since the article is a genuine piece, you really can't complain that the magazine should label it as an advertisement. Very clever. It's done regularly in many magazines these days. I'm guessing it's very successful.

(I edited the photo to not reveal the name of the shaving cream. If the company paid me an appropriate sum of money, I would have gladly not done so)