Here an ad, there an ad...

[vakkotaur]

From time to time someone comes up with yet another place to put a piece of advertising. A recent one is in video games. Some have even proposed advertising in space, visible from the surface of the earth. I'm certainly not for space-based advertising since there's far too much light pollution already. Others, well, I have javascript and animation and such disabled in my browser as I want to read the content of the web without the stupid distractions of spammy winkety-blinkety advertising.

Google gets things pretty much right - the ads aren't distracting and are somewhat relevant, without doing privacy-invasive market tracking. I don't have a problem with ads as such. I recognize the need to pay for content. I object to eyeball-hijacking.

It might be a bit of a surprise that I don't particularly mind advertising posters in rest rooms. The idea actually amuses me. Someone is so desperate that they're pushing their product in a place with which they might not desire it be associated. Also, the ads are then in the one place where a person can truly express their opinion of so much advertising.

Comments

[cathyr19355.livejournal.com]

I, on the other hand, resent advertising even though I recognize that it serves useful informational and financial purposes. I throw out advertising supplements from newspapers, and cringe when I see "ads" in movie theaters, on DVDs, etc.

That's not a principled position; my "position" is that I believe in First Amendment. But on a personal level, I avoid ads when I can unless I'm actively shopping for something.

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

I think we might agree on this. I have no qualms about setting my browser to be non-annoying, nor about siccing Form 1500 on annoying mailers, nor using the mute or fast forward buttons. I've also decided that showing up at the movie theater at 'showtime' to buy a ticket is sensible - why get there just to watch ads?

The advertisers can speak, sure. But I am not obligated to listen.

[cathyr19355.livejournal.com]

Of course, if everyone took as hard a line on avoiding "annoying" ads, advertisers would go out of business, and the economy would suffer...

Another one of those issues where my convictions conflict with my personal preferences is on smoking in public places. I dislike government getting into the business of telling people that they can't smoke in bars and other types of businesses, because it encourages more government intervention in matters individuals should be allowed to settle for themselves, but my lungs really appreciate the cleaner air.

Thus comfort, not conscience, makes cowards of us all. :-)

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

Or ads would evolve into being non-annoying or at least amusing. Advertising is not itself the problem. It's that it's so often annoying and so seldom relevant (or at least relevant in a non-creepy way).

[cathyr19355.livejournal.com]

You may have missed my point.

Advertising per se is not a "problem"--but I tend to dislike even non-offensive/obtrusive advertising.

By the way, I remember reading somewhere that intelligent, funny ads tend to be remembered more--but also tended to be less effective in selling the product. And since selling the product is what advertising is for, such ads are less likely to materialize. :-(

[kinkyturtle.livejournal.com]

Take these eyeballs to Cuba!