They aren’t exactly like the old style pop-up ads, but they might as well be. And they are even more annoying, because you cannot just hit Command-W to immediately close them, or have your browser automatically send them to the back of your active window, because they pop up within the same window you are in. Many of them have a “X” at the upper right corner you supposedly can click to close them, but I have noticed that some of these ads dishonestly act like you intended to click the ad out of interest, and that’s flat-out fraud. If they make their money by the click, then they are stealing a lot of the money they claim to be earning. It’s pathetic and dishonest, and it should be illegal.
Some Internet advertising is a disgrace these days, feeling more like an assault than anything else. Certain strategies have always been pretty reprehensible, but this is pushing the levels of decency, in my opinion. And I am interested in advertising; imagine how someone who is not interested at all must feel about this (!!!). Advertising is supposed to attract the interest of potential customers, not earn their hostility and loathing. But that’s what many of these new strategies are doing even to me. Oh, and did I mention that I am interested in advertising?
Here is a partial list of the Internet ad types I find objectionable:
New “pop-up” ads, where they pop up inside the window you’re using, rather than in a separate window. These are apparently un-blockable, leading the web surfer to feelings of being powerlessly victimized, so they are extra malice-inducing. (Making an attractive Internet ad that has a cool idea, a great headline and/or slogan, a fantastic looking image, etc., is the way to go here. It’s only crap ads nobody wants to look at that use this tactic. I get why they do it, though: the ad sucks, so nobody wants to click on it. But click-based advertising is lame anyway: Websites should just charge a flat rate for advertising, and let companies put up their ads. If the ads are good, people will notice them. Then build in a link to a bigger, better, immersive advertising experience for those that wish it, and they can get there by clicking the ad. Simple, and effective: It gives interested parties more info and a bigger sell, but will not enrage or drive away those who are not interested, keeping things positive all around with little to no animosity generated.)
Transitional ads, where when you click on a link, your browser is kidnapped and taken to some ad page, usually with some clicking timer, just to remind you that this is a hostage situation and a punishment you are not supposed to enjoy. How can this lead to anything other than disgust and annoyance? (A better idea here would be to not do this anymore, and to fire everyone who even suggests doing it. This makes web surfers feel like prisoners, and I seriously doubt they will get the Stockholm Syndrome in this instance.)
Self-expanding animated ads, where you are looking at a menu of options, and you click on one, only to have an ad automatically expand, claiming your click for itself, and then abducting your browser for an unwanted detour. This generally generates immediate rage in everyone I know who encounters it, including myself. (A better way to do this would be to have the ad only expand if you click on the ad, with the “Click To Expand” notice. Some ads do this, and I never mind them. And some of them are pretty cool, too. But cool or not, if it gets in the way of what I am doing, especially when I am pressed for time, it only produces wrath.)
Flashing, dancing graphics ads, where you cannot read, or think, or do anything online without this damn ad assaulting your vision and giving you a headache. This is quite simply torture and abuse. And I thought America does not torture. (Having an ad that flashes when you roll the cursor over it is really cool, actually. People find this out by accident, and I never find it intrusive. But when it just has a self-animated flashing effect, I detest it with all my bile.)
Every one of these strategies builds animosity in the prospective customer, and most likely drives them away, rather than attracting their interest. This is counter-productive, and it comes out of either creative laziness or desperation. A good idea and/or attractive graphic design, and a non-aggressive/annoying strategy should win a lot more positive response than these stupid things. But I guess that’s probably too difficult, so we’ll just get more of the same until the market research data shows I’m right and they stop because they have to. (But wouldn’t it be nice if they stopped because they ought to and they made better stuff?)
Now, ad people, please don’t get mad at me for stating the obvious here. Think of it this way: If you jumped in front of someone who was walking down the street and yelled at them: “Hey! Look at me!!!”, would they respond well? No, they wouldn’t. And that’s what these Internet ads I mention in this post do. Just show your product and make it look interesting, and it will work. But bash people over the head with it when they’re busy doing other things, and they will hate you. And that’s not a good policy, I don’t think.
