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Despite the increasing popularity and advantage of native advertising on social media, advertisers are concerned about the possibility of native ads misleading consumers, resulting in boomerang effects. This study attempts to address this concern by comparing the predictive role of native ad nonintrusiveness with that of native ad manipulativeness in consumers’ attitude toward and sharing intention of native advertising. Findings from an online survey of 550 U.S. adult consumers showed that native ad nonintrusiveness was positively related to attitude toward and sharing intention of native advertising, whereas native ad manipulativeness was not. Consumers’ ad skepticism and persuasion knowledge were negatively related to attitude toward and sharing intention of native advertising; but persuasion knowledge became nonsignificant when native ad nonintrusiveness and manipulativeness were included in regression models. Additionally, those with stronger information-seeking motivation showed more positive attitudinal and behavioral responses. This study advances the knowledge of native advertising by examining the possibility of its being a double-edged sword. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

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Increasingly, unhealthy food is being advertised through online games known as advergames. The advergame is designed for entertaining fun to promote the brand featured in the game. But what happens if the food advertised is healthy or the source of the game is non‐commercial? This study examines how people's entertainment (flow experience) interacts with their inference about the persuasion impact of food brands featured in an advergame, which vary according to their persuasion knowledge about the source (e.g., non‐commercial versus commercial) and the perceived persuasion effect on self (e.g., beneficial versus harmful). Results of an experiment show that flow is positively associated with persuasion effects of the advergame. Brand attitudes and purchase intentions were the most favorable for non‐commercial brands with perceived benefits (healthy food) followed by commercial brands (healthy food) and commercial brands with harmful effects (less healthy food). However, persuasion effects for purchase intention were mitigated when participants were immersed in a flow state. Ramifications for persuasion and health promotions are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.