As soon as an ad takes over our screen, the immediate reaction is irritation. We’ve all had this implicit response to a pop-up or a minute-long ad when we innocently click on a video or a link. It is impossible in this day and age to avoid them. They have crept into even the most sacred places in our lives: theaters, cars and even our own homes.
Ads have gone beyond being a simple marketing tool we tolerate for a company’s benefit and have become fatiguing to consumers. Endless, intrusive and harmful ads have ruined public trust in advertising and weakened its impact.
Attack of the ads
Ads, particularly online ads, have gone beyond their initial role as a marketing tool and become a weaponized force of misinformation, scams and fraud. In the digital age, advertising was once a mutually beneficial arrangement between consumers and companies.
The social contract was simple: a platform provides content and information to a user, and in exchange, the user grudgingly accepts ads to help the platform earn revenue. This was the social contract we all accepted as we entered the internet age, where most news and content were free to access.
This has gone terribly wrong since that basic agreement was made and companies have crossed the bounds of peaceful usage and declared war.
Major companies such as Facebook and YouTube have been running malware-ridden, counterfactual and fraudulent advertising on their websites.
Initially, consumers agreed to support websites through advertising, under the impression that it would be a safe and minor inconvenience for users. They foolishly struck a devil’s bargain.
Many companies make fortunes from advertising, such as Google, which generates annual revenue of more than $200 billion. Though they still fail to spend or screen adequately to protect consumers.
When users become victims of malicious, malware-ridden ads, they are left helpless with no support from the “user-friendly” companies that host these ads and claim to offer a safe environment.
Many companies selfishly include specific clauses in their terms of agreement, making them not liable for damages caused by advertisers they allow on their site.
The failure of these companies to protect consumers from numerous instances of harmful ads has disrupted the peaceful coexistence of digital marketing and advertising.
Revenge of the consumer
In response to major companies’ unwillingness to properly vet their advertisers and to the nonstop, perpetual marketing, consumers have fought back. They now push back by using ad blockers and ignoring advertising.
Ad blockers have become a staple on many people’s personal phones and computers; almost a third of internet users use them as of 2024. In 2012, only 44 million people used ad blockers; that number has increased rapidly to 900 million today, in response to the large pool of hostile ads that swarm the internet.
The increasing prevalence of ad blockers and cracked software that block malicious ads has a secondary consequence: harming companies that rely on ad revenue to earn profits. This affects many small companies and news sites that have no other primary revenue source besides advertising.
In 2024, publishers lost $54.9 billion in potential revenue due to ad blockers, a figure that will continue to increase as ad-block users rise.
Consumers have also rebelled against the growing prevalence of intrusive and malicious ads by simply ignoring them. About 67 percent of consumers admit to “banner blindness,” intentionally ignoring ads completely.
The consumer’s retaliation is well-intentioned, aimed at avoiding malicious and intrusive ads. Still, it is a net negative for society as it results in revenue losses for many blameless companies and individuals.
The advertisers strike back
The war between advertisers and consumers is ongoing, with many companies firing back using ammunition such as ad blocker detection and takedowns of cracked software, furthering the perpetual battle.
Tools that block ad-blocker users and take down ad-filtering software do little to resolve the ongoing stalemate in advertising. Ad-blocking software is unstoppable with its increasing usage and the multiple methods of ad-blocking.
Continuing this crusade will result in an endless game of cat and mouse that holds no winners. If companies don’t take the necessary measures to prevent harmful ads on their sites, consumers will continue to respond by using ad blockers or by ignoring ads.
On the flip side, consumers need to make informed choices, such as using ad blockers only on malicious sites and encouraging responsible advertising practices. If they fail, they will prevent many companies, creators and employees from earning sufficient revenue.
The arms race for control of ads is harmful to both companies and consumers; it is insufficient at protecting consumers and supporting businesses and people. The enemy in this conflict should be those who deliberately or out of ignorance seek to harm consumers and, consequently, affect businesses.
The only way to achieve this is by making a united front, both consumer and company, towards better practices. Companies should refrain from overwhelming consumers with intrusive ads, and consumers, in turn, should be intentional about when they rely on ad blockers. Ultimately, victory for both parties will only be achieved when they come together and stand for a better tomorrow.
opinion@thedailycougar.com
Great Job Alan Zamora & the Team @ The Cougar for sharing this story.
