But it does come across as an ad.
I think that's what it comes across as actually. I initially appears to be an article, but what we have is the same thing you'd see in a catalog: photo of the item, description, and price. So, yes it seems like an ad.
I don't have a problem at all with seeing new items on the market. But, like someone else said, 'mark' it in some way....possible with a different colored header or border...maybe a header that says "Innovative Items". Just let us know it isn't an article. Make a section for innovative items that SmartPlanet found that we might be interested in buying.