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Pop-Up Ads Lead to Consumer Revolt, Ad-Blocking

Posted by simoniker on from the in-yer-face dept.

securitas writes "The New York Times' Saul Hansell reports on pop-up advertising and the consumer backlash against intrusive advertising. It's worth noting that pop-ups and pop-unders are the most effective, lucrative and annoying online advertising form. The article discusses the boom in ad-blocker software, with AOL, Yahoo and Google getting into the game. Microsoft says that it will include pop-up blocking in IE when it releases WinXP SP2. According to one pop-under ad agency, 20%-25% percent of Web users have pop-up blocking enabled, double the rate of a year ago - Earthlink's numbers bear that out, with 1 million of its 5 million customers using its ad-blocking software 18 months after release. DoubleClick says that it is 'developing technology that will enable pop-up ads to evade the blocking software.' Why isn't that surprising?"

20 of 697 comments (clear)

  1. Not just pop-ups by andyrut · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Flashy, animated image ads on websites are just about as annoying about as much as pop-ups. Fortunately the Mozilla family of web browsers allows the user to block images from specific servers, which seems to work well in targeting ad-serving servers (doubleclick.com being one of the worst) yet leaving the ornamental graphics intact.

    Thanks to this, I've pretty much squashed the "Get 1,000 Smileys Free" advertisements.

    Now if there were only a way to block certain Flash advertisements and still be able to watch Strong Bad answering his e-mail.

    1. Re:Not just pop-ups by bogie · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes but who cares if only 5 people use it? The rest of web can go on suffering the crap that scumbag advertisers use while we fly below the radar.

      It doesn't take any skin off my back if Mozilla never becomes popular. Your first mistake was thinking that it does. I agree with the parent. The web isn't new. If the average Joe can't figure that things like Avant and Mozilla greatly enhance their web experience then shame on them. They're probably the same people who never bothered to find out that you don't need to keep the same homepage that your ISP gives you.

      I know some people will think that's a snotty comment, but come on now. You have to take responsibility for yourself at some point. Web browsing isn't rocket science.

      --
      If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
    2. Re:Not just pop-ups by gpinzone · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Use Proxomitron and you can make your blocking (or bypassing) site-specific, or even page specific. Best of all, you can use it with any browser since it works as a proxy server on localhost.

    3. Re:Not just pop-ups by stand · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Amen! I'm perfectly happy to let the people who aren't smart enough to download Mozilla subsidize my web surfing.

      Just say NO to pop-[up|under] ad blocking in IE.

      --
      Four fifths of all our troubles in this life would disappear if we would just sit down and keep still. -C. Coolidge
    4. Re:Not just pop-ups by chimpo13 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If the average Joe can't figure that things like Avant and Mozilla greatly enhance their web experience then shame on them. They're probably the same people who never bothered to find out that you don't need to keep the same homepage that your ISP gives you.

      I used to think like that years ago after high school. The "screw everyone else" thing which was probably an effect of going to a college prep high school (school rule as explained by a Jesuit Brother: no wearing blue jeans because they're a symbol of the working class).

      After getting a BA, I took a bunch of automotive mechanic classes at the local junior college which opened my mind to how close minded I was being. Working with people who could barely read/write but where able to engineer and build anything. I'm not saying most of the car geek students were illiterate.

      Stuff that's basic for computer geeks, ends up being assumed that since it's easy for you to do, everyone should know how to do it. Try building an engine. There's people who don't know you can turn off the ISP homepage but can build engines in their sleep. But 90% of the time, if you ask them a question about it, they'll be extremely helpful.

      I wonder if it works that way with computer geeks... maybe it's 90% of geeks who are helpful and you're just part of the 10% a-hole types.

      Gasoline powered engines have been around since 1864. If you can't build an engine after they've been around 140 years, you must be an idiot.

      --
      riding round the world on an old motorcycle
    5. Re:Not just pop-ups by oconnorcjo · · Score: 4, Insightful
      It's not illegal, but it seems like the least we can do for all the free content these sites give us, even if they do get annoying sometimes.

      I do not believe in supporting any bussiness model thats sole purpose is to annoy me. PERIOD. I believe advertising does nobody any good if it is not targeted to the right audience. Most advertising on the web is closer to spam than product placement and if the advertisements didn't distract me while I was reading, I would not have filtered them away. If flash sold a version of its plugin where you could freeze whatever it was doing, I would pay extra for it. As it is, I no longer have flash at all. On a side note, Slashdots advertising is EXCELENT because the adds tend to be about technology (targeted to thier audience) and are placed where they are not distracting from the content (give the advertisers thier voice without having it being "screamed" at visitors). If most websites were more like Slashdot, then adblockers would probably never have become popular.

      --
      I miss the Karma Whores.
  2. Does advertising have to be annoying? by glinden · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I find it strange that companies like DoubleClick and X10 believe that advertising is most effective when maximally annoying. Google's advertising is a perfect example of how targeted advertising -- matching keywords to ads, tracking the effectiveness of ads, and showing ads where they are most effective -- can be quite profitable. And they're doing it with text-only ads, no flash, graphics taking over your entire screen, or pop ups.

    At best, popup ads and other annoyances seems penny-wise and pound-foolish, sacrificing long-term customer satisfaction of the many who are subject to these ads and overall brand reputation for a potential short-term boost in sales from the few customers that do click through on annoying ads. For example, because I hate their ads so much, I would never buy any product from X10.

    But I actually find Google's ads useful and click on them frequently because they're so well targeted to whatever I happen to be looking for. Targeted ads work. They show information or a product that's actually useful to me without getting in my way. Why do other advertisers continue to annoy customers with useless and irrelevant popup ads?

    1. Re:Does advertising have to be annoying? by Steve+Franklin · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Customer satisfaction? I make it a point of never buying from ANYONE who pops ME up! X10? Never! Macys? Never! Get the picture? Some folks just have to get hit over the head with a lead weight to get the message.

      --
      Hic iacet Arthurus, rex quondam rexque futurus.
    2. Re:Does advertising have to be annoying? by Feyr · · Score: 4, Insightful

      that's because doubleclick and their customers are selling products that wouldn't sell otherwise: it's crap pure and simple, so they have to be maximally annoying so as to deceptively lure customers to buy their products

    3. Re:Does advertising have to be annoying? by BoldAC · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I agree. I think most geeks agree... however, most people who buy on-line are not geeks.

      I see people playing those little Orbitz shockwave ads/games all the time at work.

      They may be annoying the hell out of the typical slashdot crew, but I imagine those work really well.

      If I can stretch my assumsions a little further, I believe that's why pop-under ads are so successful. Most users are not uber-geeks... most internet users will blindly click the pretty little boxes that pop-up and attract their attention.

      AC

  3. Popups not the most effective online advertising by pkaral · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's worth noting that pop-ups and pop-unders are the most effective, lucrative and annoying online advertising form.

    Incorrect. Search advertising such those offered by Google (AdWords), Overture and numerous other players are better in terms of click-throughs, conversion rates, or any other relevant measure of advertising effectiveness. The same goes for online yellow pages advertising.

    The point of these "directional" forms of advertising is that the consumer identifies a need or an area of interest before the ad is displayed. The very reason why this advertising is less annoying - its relevance - is why it is effective.

  4. 'Blocking' is the wrong word by Ed+Avis · · Score: 4, Insightful

    People seem to be unquestioningly talking about 'blocking' pop-ups as though your computer had to actively take measures to avoid these intrusions. But all it means is using a web browser that does not execute the Javascript code. There are plenty of browsers with no Javascript at all, and it is not part of any HTML standard.

    Similarly, using lynx is not 'image blocking'.

    There is a grey area when you try to have Javascript support enabled but limit the things a script is allowed to do. But really this is just closing security holes in the original Javascript specs (popups are a form of DoS attack).

    --
    -- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
  5. But they're missing the POINT! by The+Night+Watchman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Doubleclick is attempting to evade the pop-up blockers? See, this is something that's always boggled my mind. People are using popup blockers because they don't want to receive popups. As such, they respond in a hostile manner to popup ads, and may more than likely be dissuaded from using any product advertised in such a fashion. The consumer, by using a blocker, is making a statement that they do not want to be advertised to in this way, that they find it intrusive, and that they will not respond to this form of advertising positively.

    What makes these companies think that finding means to actively go against consumers' wishes will be an effective way to earn their business? It's like the do-not-call registry. If I opt to be put on the do-not-call list, that means I have no intention of buying anything from a telemarketer. As such, the companies are not losing any of my business because I was never going to give them my business in the first place. If anything, they're saving money by not having to waste the 15 seconds it takes to call me and find out I'm not interested.

    Common sense, people...

    --
    "Every jumbled pile of person has a thinking part that wonders what the part that isn't thinking isn't thinking of"-TMBG
  6. But look how FEW people few use it ... by Random+BedHead+Ed · · Score: 4, Insightful
    What's really surprising is how few people use these pop-up blocking features and add-ins, even when they are readily available. I spent a long time annoyed by pop-ups so now I use Mozilla Firebird. But I'm a tech support worker, and I regularly run across Mozilla and Netscape users who experience pop-ups all the time. And they do nothing, because they don't know the feature exists in their browser. They endure inconvenence via ignorance.

    Most people don't understand what their computers can do, right now. I regularly amaze the users I support by helping them back up data and so forth, sometimes transferring data - like magic - over the network. People are amazed when they see they can send a document to their friend ... without using e-mail! It's all relatively mundane stuff, but it's beyond the comprehension of people who use computers ... drumroll please ... EVERY DAY OF THEIR LIVES. Think about that. Is there any other industry where regular, daily users of a technology are nevertheless bumbling novices at it?

    I think it will take Microsoft's inclusion of this in IE to really shift these numbers. Until technology is forced upon people, most won't even realize they have the option.

  7. What amazes me... by devphaeton · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...is the public's misconception about pop-up ads. Due to the slick marketing of AOL and Earthlink et al, when their screen becomes full of ads, they call up their internet service provider and give them tons of grief. I see my (less than savvy) friends pay fees to companies like AdsGone (i think it's $50/year to use the software) to get rid of "popups" by automatically closing them when they open.

    But the other issue, is that 99% of the time when someone is getting the shit hammered out of them by popup ads it is because they've got about 15 parasites embedded into IE that sits and serves them all day.

    True "pop up ads" only occur when you enter a site, or leave a site, and shouldn't just pop up spontaneously whenever the computer is on, regardless of whether or not you are on the inet. I've seen computers so laden with these that they are completely useless- you start the machine up, and it serves so many ads in the first minute that it crashes. But once again, the customers do not understand this, they simply blame their ISP.

    Finally, the latest thing that i'm seeing (i work in tech support if you haven't figured this out yet)....
    people will call up yelling and screaming and bitching and moaning about all these pop up ads they're getting. So i look at their computer and i start pointing to such things as Precision Time, or WeatherBug, or all these other "adware" programs they've installed as the culprit. They understand it when i tell them, but then i get things like "but i LIKE my Desktop Calender, i don't want you to remove it." or "but i LIKE my Huntbar." or "but i LIKE the MYWAY software, i want to keep it." and stuff. They will bitch about the ads, i tell them why they are getting them, but they don't want to fix it. However, this still doesn't stop them from calling up and bitching about the ads every other week.

    It's a no-win situation for all concerned. I hate blanket statements, but the fact is, most of the people on the internet don't deserve to be there and will always be miserable, no matter how much you try to help them.

    --


    do() || do_not(); // try();
  8. Computer misuse by nuggz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Making software that evades my security measures is wrong.
    If I purposely put in place software to protect me from viewing popup ads, and you circumvent it you may be guilty of a "hacking" crime.

    I did not authorize you to pop up ads on my computer, I explicitly configured to prevent this.

    By enabling your software to evade my blocking software you can't claim that you were authorized.
    When I take steps to avoid something, you can't claim implied consent anymore.

  9. A message to advertisers... by Andy+Smith · · Score: 4, Insightful

    1. I decide I don't like pop-ups.
    2. I install a pop-up blocker.
    3. You use pop-ups to advertise your product.
    4. Your pop-up manages to avoid my blocker.
    5. I see your ad and I think "Oh it's *that* product! Oh well that's okay then, I don't mind at all that *that* product is being pushed at me. I will buy that product immediately!"

    Do you honestly think that's how it will happen?

    If a company's first form of contact with me is showing me a form of intrusive, annoying advert that I have specifically decided to avoid then I will simply *not* buy that company's product! No ifs, no buts, no exceptions to the rule. Annoy me in such a selfish, arrogant way and you lose a potential customer.

    But hey, I'm the only person who thinks that way, aren't I?

  10. Re:not a good idea by xigxag · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Is it not illegal to do circumventing of technology.

    I wonder about that. How is circumventing my pop-up-blocker against my wishes any different from me circumventing DoubleClick's firewall against their wishes?

    I consider popups a form of DoS. They steal unwanted cycles from my CPU, steal the "focus" of my windows, and impede my work.

    --
    There are two kinds of people: 1) those who start arrays with one and 1) those who start them with zero.
  11. Re:Its getting worse, Television AD's come to the by Malc · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Beginning tomorrow, more than a dozen Web sites [...] will run full-motion video commercials. [...] The new ad technology, from Unicast [...] invisibly loads the commercial while unwitting users read a Web page"

    My chosen ISP implements a bandwidth quota and excess charges. Will these web site operators who incorporate full-motion in to their web pages pay for my bandwidth?

    The point's rather moot in my case though. They can kiss my arse as I will continue to avoid IE, and any web site that requires it. I'd like to see them hijacking my web experience considering I use Mozilla and a customised hosts file.

  12. Re:Hmm by BLAMM! · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You're exactly right about this. I've always thought there was a difference between "advertising" and "marketing". The purpose of advertisment is to let people know that you are selling something so they know where to get it. Informative without being pushy. The purpose of marketing is to convince you that you should buy what they are hawking whether you really need it or not.

    The former can be inconvienent, but I think is really a necessary evil. The latter, epitomized by spam and pop-ups, is vile.

    The line between the two can be fuzzy, but there is no doubt whatsoever about low lifes who feel they have the right to invade your privacy because "A guy has to make money." Bite me. Get a real job and work for a living.