5 ms·

Targeted ads are extremely effective, in general. You'll never see a scientific study because nobody in ad space wants targets to realize this. I used to run a

Targeted ads are extremely effective, in general. You'll never see a scientific study because nobody in ad space wants targets to realize this. I used to run a campaign so well targeted that we had an 8% buy rate. That is, 8% of the people that saw the ad not only clicked, they actually bought the product. Google charged us $35 for every click but the product was so expensive we still made a killing. Targeted advertising needs to be banned for the good of society. It's evil, inisidious. All about trying your best to manipulate the worst traits of human nature for profit. I can pretty easily find out if you're an addict, ex con, a gambler, in debt, illegal immigrant, bad English, maybe a minority. I'll find something you're probably insecure about and use that to sell you shit. Also, I don't wanna waste money showing my ads to poor people. Can't do that directly, but there's plenty of proxies. Just add a bunch of "interests" to your audience. Things Like horse racing, wine collecting, yachts, expensive rugs. I wish I was kidding, but everyone does this on targeted advertising platforms. It's a discrimination minefield, but since you use proxy characteristics for everything and everyone covers their eyes it's totally fine.

return1 7y ago
Advertising a painkiller in a hospital is also targeted advertising. The question is whether digital is somehow dangerously more effective than other forms (which are ostensibly considered "safe"). I m not surprised by your data point, you are obviously selling something to very specific to people who really need it, but this says nothing about the ability to change people's opinion on something. And as counterpoint, if it was really so effective as you claim, why haven't we seen huge increases in ad spending lately?
- coldtea 7y ago
  >Advertising a painkiller in a hospital is also targeted advertising And should also be banned. A painkiller being promoted and bought more by customers just because it has more money to spend in advertising is morally worse than the mere creepiness of regular (buy BS stuff you don't need) targeted advertisement. Who needs ads? Level the playing field with an online catalog where patients can discover (in, say, random order for each viewing, to avoid even sorting bias) all available painkillers. You can then add voting to the catalog, so patients and doctors can weight in for how good they think the painkiller is -- but with huge fines and prison for any company trying to manipulate buy those votes.
- jfk13 7y ago
  > you are obviously selling something to very specific to people who really need it Is that really the "obvious" inference? Perhaps they're just good at selling something outrageously overpriced to a category of particularly gullible marks. It wouldn't be the first time in advertising history, I'm sure.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- afandian 7y ago
  Genuine question -- are there places where painkillers are advertised in hospital?
- nullwasamistake 7y ago
  Ad spending for anything worthwhile is insane. if you haven't seen it you're just not in the industry. I've seen keywords that go for over 60$ for a single click. And nearly all are exploitative Google is one of the biggest companies in the world solely from advertising revenue. Same with Facebook and other social media. The more information they have about you, the more terrible the ad targeting
xvector 7y ago
Out of curiosity, what product space do you operate in?
- nullwasamistake 7y ago
  Business consulting. The only thing more costly than the problem is the cure
majos 7y ago
> I'll find something you're probably insecure about and use that to sell you shit. What's an example of this? I'm generally confused by your claim, because I've used a whole lot of internet and literally never bought anything through an ad.
- netsharc 7y ago
  It's probably not his field, but Scientology is an example. Their "personality test" is their way to find out your vulnerabilities and exploit you to shell out money to find "inner peace" through their "religion".
- nisa 7y ago
  I want to believe me neither but lately I've researched some personal medical issues and the amount of well written absolutely not-scientific (while citing lot's of studies) blog posts / sites that sell you something and make you believe you have an non-existing disease that's easy to self diagnose (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenal_fatigue https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenal_fatigue) is pretty high for any medical topic. If you are desperate and someone is able to convince you that he can solve your problems for only 20-50$ no questions asked, next day in delivered to your home wouldn't you click if you had the money?
  - return1 7y ago
    how is that related to targeted ads?
- darkpuma 7y ago
  > You feel ugly and lonely. Look at this group of young attractive people. They've got a vibrant group of friends and do lots of cool things like drinking ice cold Coca-Cola™. You should drink some Coca-Cola™ too so you can be like them. As dumb as it sounds when put like this, it actually works. When you start looking for it, marketing that exploits body image insecurities is particularly common.
- SmellyGeekBoy 7y ago
  "It doesn't work on me therefore it doesn't work at all" seems like somewhat flawed reasoning.
itsaidpens 7y ago
I make $200,000 doing smart proxying for FB campaigns. My favorite easy way to increase ad efficiency? Exclude Android users. Really.
- nullwasamistake 7y ago
  Our best marks came from AM radio. Highly skewed towards old rich business owners adrift in the game of modern advertising

return1 7y ago

Advertising a painkiller in a hospital is also targeted advertising. The question is whether digital is somehow dangerously more effective than other forms (which are ostensibly considered "safe"). I m not surprised by your data point, you are obviously selling something to very specific to people who really need it, but this says nothing about the ability to change people's opinion on something. And as counterpoint, if it was really so effective as you claim, why haven't we seen huge increases in ad spending lately?

coldtea 7y ago
>Advertising a painkiller in a hospital is also targeted advertising And should also be banned. A painkiller being promoted and bought more by customers just because it has more money to spend in advertising is morally worse than the mere creepiness of regular (buy BS stuff you don't need) targeted advertisement. Who needs ads? Level the playing field with an online catalog where patients can discover (in, say, random order for each viewing, to avoid even sorting bias) all available painkillers. You can then add voting to the catalog, so patients and doctors can weight in for how good they think the painkiller is -- but with huge fines and prison for any company trying to manipulate buy those votes.
jfk13 7y ago
> you are obviously selling something to very specific to people who really need it Is that really the "obvious" inference? Perhaps they're just good at selling something outrageously overpriced to a category of particularly gullible marks. It wouldn't be the first time in advertising history, I'm sure.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
afandian 7y ago
Genuine question -- are there places where painkillers are advertised in hospital?
nullwasamistake 7y ago
Ad spending for anything worthwhile is insane. if you haven't seen it you're just not in the industry. I've seen keywords that go for over 60$ for a single click. And nearly all are exploitative Google is one of the biggest companies in the world solely from advertising revenue. Same with Facebook and other social media. The more information they have about you, the more terrible the ad targeting

xvector 7y ago

Out of curiosity, what product space do you operate in?

nullwasamistake 7y ago
Business consulting. The only thing more costly than the problem is the cure

majos 7y ago

> I'll find something you're probably insecure about and use that to sell you shit. What's an example of this? I'm generally confused by your claim, because I've used a whole lot of internet and literally never bought anything through an ad.

netsharc 7y ago
It's probably not his field, but Scientology is an example. Their "personality test" is their way to find out your vulnerabilities and exploit you to shell out money to find "inner peace" through their "religion".
nisa 7y ago
I want to believe me neither but lately I've researched some personal medical issues and the amount of well written absolutely not-scientific (while citing lot's of studies) blog posts / sites that sell you something and make you believe you have an non-existing disease that's easy to self diagnose (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenal_fatigue https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenal_fatigue) is pretty high for any medical topic. If you are desperate and someone is able to convince you that he can solve your problems for only 20-50$ no questions asked, next day in delivered to your home wouldn't you click if you had the money?
- return1 7y ago
  how is that related to targeted ads?
darkpuma 7y ago
> You feel ugly and lonely. Look at this group of young attractive people. They've got a vibrant group of friends and do lots of cool things like drinking ice cold Coca-Cola™. You should drink some Coca-Cola™ too so you can be like them. As dumb as it sounds when put like this, it actually works. When you start looking for it, marketing that exploits body image insecurities is particularly common.
SmellyGeekBoy 7y ago
"It doesn't work on me therefore it doesn't work at all" seems like somewhat flawed reasoning.

itsaidpens 7y ago

I make $200,000 doing smart proxying for FB campaigns. My favorite easy way to increase ad efficiency? Exclude Android users. Really.

nullwasamistake 7y ago
Our best marks came from AM radio. Highly skewed towards old rich business owners adrift in the game of modern advertising