This article from AdAge: “Ad Blocking: The Unnecessary Internet Apocalypse” is a great look at the same topic that has occupied this blog for four posts (including this one). While I do not see ad blocking as an ethical issue given the invasiveness of some advertisements and data aggregates during the years, I am in full agreement with the article’s proposed solution.
If we were to make ads less invasive, to the point that a user doesn’t notice a difference in his experience, ad blocking may cease to exist.
There’s little to be gained from heavy-handed approaches. There will be new companies ready to provide the same product incorporated under different rules, and there always will be alternatives to the service you provide on the internet.
Invasive advertising has created a consumer environment hostile to advertisements. If we as advertisers are going to continue to use the internet as a platform, we are obligated to give greater consideration to how our ads affect the consumer. Advertisements should provide a pleasant and/or useful surprise, a worthy disruption. However, we fail to contribute as much to the consumer and our client when we’re an annoyance, a distraction with no reward.
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