A "sponsored column" broke the rules on advertising when The Herald failed to label it as an advertising feature.

The Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint against the Glasgow paper for its Professional Brief column.

The regular column allows firms to contribute editorial content from an expert point of view on topics in the headlines.

The paper said that despite making a nominal charge for the article - to cover staff time - the contributors were not allowed to mention their services in the column, and the Herald itself maintained editorial control, reserving the right to edit or spike the work.

It also argued that the work was similar to a by-lined freelance contribution, with the opinions expressed being those of the author. Three columns were submitted with the most newsworthy going forward for publication.

The ASA upheld the complaint, its adjudication deciding that the content was provided by marketers rather than the publishers, and that money was paid for the space.

It has asked for such columns to be marked as advertising features in future.

The ASA's code on ad features states: "Advertisement features, announcements or promotions, sometimes referred to as 'advertorials', that are disseminated in exchange for a payment or other reciprocal arrangement should comply with the Code if their content is controlled by the marketers rather than the publishers.

"Marketers and publishers should make clear that advertisement features are advertisements, for example by heading them advertisement feature."

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