It's not you, it's me...

This requires no comment, a posting by Ian Alexander in a Folio: column:

Dear Advertorial,

I don’t know how to say this nicely but ... it’s just not working.

I’ve tried for years to include you in my circle. I’ve never made you play the uncomfortable host, I’ve sat you in between features and ads and even given you your own tagline: “Special Advertising Section.”

But no matter what I do, you always seem to either want more or blend in covertly and then start passing your card around in the middle of dinner.

It wasn’t until this past week when you mimicked my department style that I realized it wasn’t you, it was me. I should have never trusted you to begin with. I should have kept my editorial editorial and my advertising advertising. We’ve had some good times—the ad cloaked as a story about our trip to the Virgin Islands, the business opportunities in India where I let you interview your friends and those photo-styled dinners we cooked in the new condos on the West Side (remember how we soaked up real estate money when the market was hot?)

All good memories, but times have changed and my analyst says I need to clean up my act and start setting some boundaries. Everyone always told me you were a little shady, a little “local coupon magazine-ish.” I guess they were right.

Best Wishes,

Editorial