Un- “Acceptable Ads”
Eyeo GmbH, creators of Adblock Plus, have given the yellow light to advertisers to create advertisements that may bypass Adblock. The company has recently announced a program called Acceptable Ads that allows advertisers to pay a fee for ad space previously blocked by the Adblock Plus program. However, these ads must follow specific regulations before being broadcast to users.
“Greed is so destructive. It destroys everything.”
It comes with great surprise that Eyeo GmbH would release such a model. At a glance this appears to be pure greed on behalf of a company that made money protecting users. Instead, the company has reversed sides and is now selling access to its users. The regulations and board they are set to put in place to monitor ads is all but icing on a cake of lies.
Users block ads for a simple reason; they don’t like them. The 400 million existing users and I who use Adblock extensions can all agree we hate ads made before YouTube videos and on the side of pages. Now what is there really to gain for users and advertisers?
A Lose Lose Situation
We want to block all ads not just most of them! Customers who are unaware of this new protocol will certainly give Eyeo GmbH an earful when they begin to see ads popping up again. The company will surely need to explain why they chose to betray users. Further, there is no benefit to users who are aware of this change. These users know these companies are paying for ad space and the right to invade their space. Customers are surely to react negatively to brands paying to invade this space as they become a nuisance to consumer behaviour which inevitably defeats the purpose of ads. As such, it is pretty evident that both consumers and advertisers suffer.
Users may disengage all ads, regardless of whitelist status, but sitting on the fence isn’t a sign of confidence. Eyeo GmbH needs to decide whether their focus is on their users or the advertisers they originally wished to stop.
Advertising has become more than just about pure exposure; it’s about targeting. If Adblock does not allow for targeting due to the restrictions placed on these ads then there is really no point for advertisers to shell out cash for this space. In general, if someone doesn’t want something and you force it upon them it is likely to draw a negative reaction. Will ads be the exception? I doubt it.
