It should have been there. Several people inside The Bee newsroom noticed and flagged the advertising department. We are merely providing a format for a specific type of advertiser to present their products and services to the public. The labeling of such ads is not in dispute inside The Bee. Once in a while the label is missing, and that always triggers a response.
Readers are sensitive to the issue.
The Bee also has other rules regarding the use of type fonts and design, rules intended to make ads look distinctly different from news. But with the changes in fonts in the news pages of the paper, and the increasing pressure from advertisers wanting to look less like other advertisers, there in an opportunity for more reader confusion. The Bee can't afford to send mixed signals to readers about what is and is not acceptable, and enforcement of the policies requires effort by all departments involved. One of the perceptions a few readers have shared since The Bee was redesigned in early April is that the paper seems to be running more advertising and less news. Some readers are convinced the redesign effort was a sham to make more money.