On November 6, Azadeh Ensha wrote in the New York Times:
"Web telemarketers don’t take aim at just your e-mail
account. In order to block pop-up and banner ads when surfing the
Internet, download the Firefox browser from http://firefox.com, then download (mozillaaddons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865). Also be sure to enable Firefox’s built-in pop-up blocker (also available on Apple’s Safari browser and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8) to take care of sneakier ads.And
if all of the above fails, turn off your TV, shut down your desktop and
pick up a book. Advertisers haven’t cornered that market — yet."
Today, Randall Rothenberg, President of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, responded in the Times in kind:
"To the Editor:
Re “Tactics That Tame Intrusive Advertising” (Business Day, Nov. 6):
Those
online banner ads that you recommend blocking with browser add-ons pay
for the free content on the Web — the e-mail accounts, video shorts,
interactive election maps and myriad other new forms that entertain and
inform our citizenry.Moreover, these ads help companies grow, something everyone ought to be concerned about as we head into a recession.
Randall Rothenberg
President and Chief Executive
Interactive Advertising Bureau
New York, Nov. 6, 2008"
Randall, time to start either (a) working on your business model; or (b) make the things that you put in the "ad" spaces on the web engaging, not intrusive.
I couldn’t agree more. This represents a failure of imagination, giving up on the possibility of engaging content and the suggestion that web “viewers” should prostrate themselves before those deigning to toss them scraps of information. Even TV advertisers presumably feel some responsibility to persuade viewers to stay in their seats and not flip the channel, press fast-forward, or go Twitter for 30 seconds.
To quote the late Mayor Harold Washington of Chicago: “We will not lie supine before the juggernaut.” (one of my favorite quotes; I just had to shoehorn in there)
Reading Randall’s response brought a tear to my eye. Is he nearing retirement? Perhaps he should go into the billboard business.
“Perhaps he should go into the billboard business.”
::snort::
As with almost everything in life you have to say it depends. If the advertising is for something good then great. But if it is just another crap product thrown together to make sales quick then die out then stop them.
But either way stick to the 80/20 rule to watch out for that 20 that means something