diff --git a/readthedocs/projects/models.py b/readthedocs/projects/models.py
index 59fd74a96f9..49aadf02bf6 100644
--- a/readthedocs/projects/models.py
+++ b/readthedocs/projects/models.py
@@ -894,12 +894,20 @@ def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
                 pass
         super(APIProject, self).__init__(*args, **kwargs)
 
+        # Overwrite the database property with the value from the API
+        self.ad_free = (not kwargs.pop('show_advertising', True))
+
     def save(self, *args, **kwargs):
         return 0
 
     def has_feature(self, feature_id):
         return feature_id in self.features
 
+    @property
+    def show_advertising(self):
+        """Whether this project is ad-free (don't access the database)"""
+        return not self.ad_free
+
 
 @python_2_unicode_compatible
 class ImportedFile(models.Model):
diff --git a/readthedocs/rtd_tests/tests/test_api.py b/readthedocs/rtd_tests/tests/test_api.py
index 0f33b69697c..1148f07f3ff 100644
--- a/readthedocs/rtd_tests/tests/test_api.py
+++ b/readthedocs/rtd_tests/tests/test_api.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 from readthedocs.builds.models import Build, BuildCommandResult, Version
 from readthedocs.integrations.models import Integration
 from readthedocs.oauth.models import RemoteOrganization, RemoteRepository
-from readthedocs.projects.models import Feature, Project
+from readthedocs.projects.models import Feature, Project, APIProject
 from readthedocs.restapi.views.integrations import GitHubWebhookView
 from readthedocs.restapi.views.task_views import get_status_data
 
@@ -564,6 +564,26 @@ def test_remote_organization_pagination(self):
         self.assertEqual(len(resp.data['results']), 25)  # page_size
         self.assertIn('?page=2', resp.data['next'])
 
+    def test_init_api_project(self):
+        project_data = {
+            'name': 'Test Project',
+            'slug': 'test-project',
+            'show_advertising': True,
+        }
+
+        api_project = APIProject(**project_data)
+        self.assertEqual(api_project.slug, 'test-project')
+        self.assertEqual(api_project.features, [])
+        self.assertFalse(api_project.ad_free)
+        self.assertTrue(api_project.show_advertising)
+
+        project_data['features'] = ['test-feature']
+        project_data['show_advertising'] = False
+        api_project = APIProject(**project_data)
+        self.assertEqual(api_project.features, ['test-feature'])
+        self.assertTrue(api_project.ad_free)
+        self.assertFalse(api_project.show_advertising)
+
 
 class APIImportTests(TestCase):