Phil Baker is singing to the choir on this particular subject. To me, one of the worst purchases that Google made was DoubleClick. They moved away from content relevant ads to ads that follow users around the web, hounding us, and creating such obnoxious online experiences that more and more users are implementing ad blockers out of sheer exasperation. Phil speaks to how this issue has impacted his behavior below:
Online advertising is broken | Baker On Tech
by Phil Baker
Technology is letting us down. After all, isn’t it supposed to serve us ads on our phones, tablets, and computers that makes us want to buy more? Isn’t it supposed to show us ads that are selected for us based on our activities on the internet and the information it learns about us? But, most importantly, it’s supposed to predict what we might want to buy next and offer us some suggestions about products and services we have a propensity to purchase. From all I observe and experience, it does a terrible job, even while it intrudes into our privacy.
If I click on an item or buy a product, it never lets me forget. On site after site, that same item pops up, assuming that the more impressions the better. That may be true with TV or newspaper ads, but for most of us, it’s the opposite with Internet ads.
Repetition is one of the reasons on-line advertising drives us crazy. A word or two to the wise should be sufficient. But seeing the same Harry’s Razor ad for weeks and months after purchasing one does not endear me to the company.
In fact, I stopped buying blades from them because the ads were so incessant, and I became sick of them. I even tried clicking on the option to tell the ad delivery company it was too repetitive, but to no avail.
A few months ago I clicked on an ad that promised a free pair of boxer shorts. Turned out it wasn’t free and I ignored the ad. But now, how embarrassing to see boxer shorts plastered all over my computer screen!
What the on-line advertising industry forgets is that too many blatant ads can create animosity and…
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