An advertorial is paid material published in an editorial context that promotes a product or service. The minimum obligations in Romania: a visible commercial label, identification of the paying sender, and marked commercial links. Without these three elements the material can be classed as disguised advertising — a practice forbidden in every case by Romanian Law 363/2007, Annex 1, point 11.
What is an advertorial?
The advertorial combines the form of an article with the purpose of an advert — the word is a blend of “advertisement” and “editorial”. Unlike a press release, which announces a verifiable fact, the advertorial aims to promote a product or service, usually for a fee. The payment or commercial advantage from the promoted party is the defining element, not the document's title.
What sets it apart from an ordinary editorial article:
- payment or another commercial advantage from the promoted party;
- control of the message by the client, not the newsroom;
- the obligation of visible labelling, not merely the author's intention.
Why does labelling matter?
Law 363/2007, Annex 1, point 11 forbids “using editorial content in the media to promote a product where a trader has paid for the promotion without making that clear”. Being in Annex 1, the practice is unfair regardless of severity — there is no threshold of “but it was obvious it was an advert”.
For online publication, Law 365/2002, Article 6(2) (consolidated text, in Romanian) also applies: commercial communications must be clearly identifiable as such, and the person on whose behalf they are made must be identified.
The practical consequence: the medium that publishes is jointly liable with the client (Law 148/2000, Article 18). Labelling protects the reader and the publisher alike.
How do you recognise a transparently published advertorial?
A transparent advertorial is recognisable before the first paragraph: it carries a commercial label, an identified sender, and it does not bear the newsroom's byline. Commercial links are qualified for the search engine. The exact implementation, including checks on mobile and in the HTML, is in the step-by-step labelling guide.
Where does the advertorial sit against the press release?
The advertorial and the press release can appear on the same channels, but their purpose and labelling obligations differ. The table compares the formats on criteria you can verify at publication — not on promises of distribution or media coverage.
| Criterion | Advertorial | Press release |
|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | promoting a product or service | announcing a fact |
| Payment | usually yes | may be editorial or paid |
| Voice | message controlled by the client | third person, facts |
| Labelling | mandatory if paid | mandatory if paid |
| Links | rel="sponsored" | rel="sponsored" if paid |
The detailed side-by-side comparison of obligations is in the guide on press release versus advertorial.
What does the publication check before accepting?
Before publication, the publisher checks the format, the sender's identity, the documents required by the category, and the claims that need to be proven. Liability may be joint with the client if the material breaks the law, so the check happens before, not after a complaint. The technical checklist is kept in one place: the labelling procedure.
The complete filter by product category is documented in the site's editorial policy. For medicines, supplements, credit or gambling, the legal checks are additional — see Law 363/2007, Annex 1 as a starting point.
Frequent mistakes with advertorials
The four errors below appear often in paid material: the newsroom's byline, an incomplete label, unmarked links, and rewriting that hides the commercial origin. Each can bring joint sanctions for the publisher and the client.
Publishing under the newsroom's byline. The reader believes the material was assessed editorially. It is exactly the scenario described at point 11 of Annex 1.
An incomplete label. “Partner” or “Recommendation” without a mention of payment do not meet the requirement of clear identification.
Unmarked links. An SEO risk for the publisher and a breach of transparency towards the reader.
Editing that hides the commercial origin. If you rewrite the advertorial so it “sounds editorial”, you turn the payment into an implicit recommendation by the newsroom.
Do you already have the promotional material, or do you need it written? The page on publishing an advertorial explains the deliverables, the labelling and the complete brief. The offer is set after the text, deadline, links, desired reach and applicable documents; it does not promise rankings, traffic or pick-up.
A whole advertorial, with an explanation of every paragraph and the wrong version alongside, is in the annotated advertorial example. If you wonder whether it is worth it compared with pay-per-click advertising, the one-year calculation is in advertorial or Google Ads.
Frequently asked questions
Is the advertorial illegal?
No, if it is labelled correctly and the content respects the rules for its product category. What is forbidden is unlabelled or misleading publication.
Can an advertorial appear on Google News?
Material correctly labelled as sponsored can be indexed, but Google's transparency requirements remain mandatory. Paid links without rel="sponsored" can attract penalties.
Who is liable if the claims in the advertorial are false?
Jointly: the client, the author of the material and the publishing medium (Law 148/2000, Article 18). That is why the publisher checks the documents before publication.
Can an advertorial contain testimonials?
Yes, if they are real, verifiable and do not breach the rules of the vertical (for example, a doctor quoted for food supplements is forbidden by Order 1069/2007 of the Romanian Ministry of Health, Article 12).
How is it different from a paid article on your own blog?
The same labelling obligations. “Your own blog” does not exempt you from Law 365/2002 — online commercial communication has to be identified as such whatever the domain.
Last updated: 19 August 2026.