For a modern and very transparent version of this, look for the term "coffee badging", which seems to have been invented sometime in mid-2023. Based on quotes in the (very similar) first articles mentioning the term, I think it came from a PR effort by Owl Labs, makers of an expensive camera/mic setup for Zoom.

Previously: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...

It's submitted a fair amount but only two submissions have any comments.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13993

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39903393

Such a quaint read in the age of aggressive influencer-ing

It's still relevant with mainstream news publications. If you find yourself reading a, e.g., WSJ article and it sounds like an advertisement, it most likely is, however indirectly.

"Whatever its flaws, the writing you find online is authentic."

This did not age well! :)