Dive Brief:

• Washington Post subscribers likely noticed something different in their morning paper on Thursday, and that was a native ad running on page A13.
• Shell's native ad was entitled "Reducing the environmental impact of driving: Shell in Partnership with...You," that highlights ways to maximize fuel efficiency, and how Shell can help.
• To make it clear that Shell's native ad was just that—and not an editorial story— the ad included a light yellow background and "sponsor generated content" banner across the top.

Dive Insight:

Washington Post's print native ad comes on the heels of the news that the New York Times is cutting 100 jobs because of declining print revenue. Native ads are often met with scorn in newsrooms across the country, but if the Washington Post is able to evade the job cuts the Times had to face—perhaps more journalists will warm up to the idea of native ads in print.