An advertorial is an advertisement written in the form of editorial copy in a printed publication. They are usually designed to look like news stories. It can be contrasted with publicity because the marketer must pay a fee to the media company for the ad placement, whereas publicity is placed without payment to the media company and with no control over the copy. Most publications will not accept advertisements that look exactly like stories from the newspaper or magazine they are appearing in, but the differences may be subtle, and the word "advertisement" may or may not appear.

Advertorials commonly advertise new products or techniques—such as a new design for golf equipment or a new form of laser surgery . The tone is usually closer to that of a press release than of an objective news story: advertisers will not spend money to describe the flaws of their products.

Many newspapers and magazines will assign staff writers or freelancers to write advertorials, usually without a byline credit. A major difference between regular editorial and advertorial is that clients usually have content approval of advertorials, a luxury usually not provided with regular editorial.