You've done your due diligence and you are sure that the content of your advertisement is accurate and fully substantiated with reliable data. All good, right? Not necessarily.

It's a good first step – but the FTC and advertising laws are not limited to content, they also require that the context and presentation of the advertisement not be misleading or deceptive. The FTC recently re-affirmed this rule in explaining its standards for so-called "native advertising."

Native advertising is advertising that matches the design, style, and behavior of the digital media in which it is disseminated. One aim of a native advertisement is to blend in with the organic content of a website. Native advertising has been on the uptick in the past several years as advertisers try to convince increasingly savvy internet users to click on their advertisements. According to the FTC, however, a well-designed native advertisement may well be impermissibly deceptive.

In its recent pronouncement, the FTC did not rewrite the rules applicable to contextual advertising; but it made clear that the rules apply to native advertising just like all other advertising.

So what are the rules and what should be done to ensure compliance with them?

According to the FTC, the rule is as follows:

"Deception occurs when an advertisement misleads reasonable consumers as to its true nature or source, including that a party other than the sponsoring advertiser is the source of an advertising or promotional message, and such misleading representation is material."

Pretty simple – all expect for what qualifies as "material." Fortunately, the FTC provides a definition of what they consider material:

"[A] misleading representation is material if it is likely to affect the consumers' choices or conduct regarding the advertised product or the advertisement, such as by leading consumers to give greater credence to advertising claims or to interact with advertising with which they otherwise would not have interacted."

In other words, if the context and design of the advertisement misleads consumers into believing it is not an advertisement paid for by the advertiser, it very well may be deceptive under the FTC's rule.

So what factors can an advertiser consider in developing a native advertisement?

Consider the entire context surrounding the advertisement. In assessing whether an advertisement is misleading, the FTC will consider the net impression of the advertisement, not just the statements in isolation. The FTC will "scrutinize the entire ad, examining such factors as its overall appearance, the similarity of its written, spoken, or visual style to non-advertising content offered on a publisher's site, and the degree to which it is distinguishable from such other content."

Consider the target of the advertisement. In some circumstances, the target audience for an advertisement will be an important consideration. For example, the FTC may apply different considerations to advertisements directed at children versus those directed at educated, sophisticated consumers.

Consider using a clear disclosure. Time and again, the FTC has suggested or required the use of a clear disclosure that an advertisement disguised as something else is, in fact, an advertisement. The classic example is the use of the word "ADVERTISEMENT" in sufficiently large and clear text on an advertisement in a newspaper that is disguised as a news article. Such disclosures will not always be sufficient – it will always depend on the full context of the advertisement.

Don't rely on the consumer "figuring it out" later on. The FTC considers deception harmful and illegal even if the consumer can later figure out that what he or she just clicked on was an advertisement by, for example, looking at the landing page or speaking to a sales representative. Curing the deception after the fact is, under the FTC's guidelines, likely insufficient.

Read and know the rules. A good starting place is to read the FTC's Enforcement Policy Statement on Deceptively Formatted Advertisements. And when in doubt, consult with an attorney experienced in advertising law.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.