6 ms·

You will just get other kinds of advertisement. Ads that are technically not ads. Things like product placements, free promotions, word of mouth campaigns etc.

93po 2y ago
we already have laws that make it illegal to accept money for certain circumstances, e.g. sex, bribery, extortion. Just make it illegal to accept money to promote products. I say this not because I think it's illegal but rather to challenge the status quo - i don't think there's a reason we couldn't do this other than humans being fragile and inflexible
wat10000 2y ago
Good.
tossandthrow 2y ago
These are ads and in many jurisdictions Also treated like ads. Weird that This is not the case in the US?
- Aerroon 2y ago
  They aren't all ads, because the situation gets really muddy. If a website talks about an upcoming movie is that an ad? What if they were shown the movie before its release?
  - blitzar 2y ago
    Reviews are ads. Thats why these people call themselves "influencers".
    - oneeyedpigeon 2y ago
      Roger Ebert will be turning in his grave.
  - Timwi 2y ago
    It's an ad if and only if it is mixed into an article that is not about the movie. If I click a link that says that the article behind it is about the movie, it's not an ad. If I click on a link to a comparison of PC networking equipment, then it's an ad because a movie is not PC networking equipment. This doesn't mean the movie article (or indeed the hardware comparison) can't be sponsored. It just means the ad shouldn't be able to be shoved in your face unsolicited.
    - querez 2y ago
      Ok, so you have a review article about PC networking equipment, sponsored by Cisco. That's an ad for you. Now you go to the homepage of the site that wrote that review. They link to that review from their home page. Is that an ad? Probably, because it could contain an ad-like image as its banner (showing Cisco equipment) and maybe even a slightly ad-ish title ("Cisco outperforms other networking equipment in our recent review of x articles"). So, is another page, that links to that page also an ad? Because maybe the homepage that runs Cisco-sponsored reviews might also have a cisco-sponsored banner. And even if not, maybe over time they become associated as "the thing that reviews things were cisco always wins"... Oh, and what if it wasn't a sponsorship. What if instead Cisco just gave them the hardware to test at a discount? Or for free? Would you not write a slightly more favourable review for nvidia if they gifted you their top-tier GPU? What if instead of gifting you the GPU, they just give it to you at a discount? Or earlier than normal customers? Or they just have nvidia-stickers for your kids in the box? Ads are an extremly slipperly slope, they're part of human nature; everyone I ever met is trying to tell me about (=market) themselves, their beliefs, their current hobbies, that new burger place down the road, ....
  - AdamN 2y ago
    It's not all that muddy under normal circumstances - if there are payments to the producers then it's an ad. There is the problem in extremis though - a person gets a cameo on a show and then uses that to sell other products and in return helps out the producer in some non-obvious way. It's an issue but I'd be happy with a 90% solution over a 0% solution.
    - quietbritishjim 2y ago
      Ok but what if you're allowed to watch the movie/game/etc. for free before general release? That might not seem like payment, after all it's just necessary to allow the review to happen. But what if review sites that give a few bad reviews are denied this access? And no one wants to read reviews after release? In the end, on paper, the studio has no editorial oversight, but in practice you need to give them good reviews (essentially, adverts) if your business is to survive. This is exactly how it works, by the way.
      - kassner 2y ago
        Would they get to watch it for free if they release their review months after the movie is released? If no, then it’s an ad, with just a very low price.
  - prmoustache 2y ago
    Well most hollywood movie productions are just 1h30 ads nowadays. You can usually see ton of product placement with closeup on logos and products that do not make any sense for the storytelling.
- arrowsmith 2y ago
  If you grew up in Europe, I promise that when you visit the US for the first time, you will be SHOCKED by America's advertising standards (or lack of them.) Advertising is everywhere, everywhere, everywhere, everywhere, to an extent far beyond what you're used to from home. Posters, billboards, fliers, TV commercials, product placement, celebrity endorsements - you can barely step outside without being bombarded by yet another obnoxious advertisement. And "obnoxious" is an understatement: American adverts are noticeably more loud, garish, cheesy, repetitive and attention-grabbing. It's really quite something. And it's exhausting.
  - blueflow 2y ago
    Experience it yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6QUsx68DCA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6QUsx68DCA
    - arrowsmith 2y ago
      Amazing. Reminds me of a joke from an old South Park episode. The boys are watching something tragic and awful on the news, then it cuts to a ridiculous commercial that completely trivialises the tragedy. I can't remember the details (does anyone know what episode I'm talking about? Got the clip?) but it's a hilarious satire of how the news media operates. That CNN clip is basically South Park in real life.
  - ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
    > American adverts are noticeably more loud, garish, cheesy, repetitive and attention-grabbing. I take it that you have not been to Tokyo or Seoul, then?
    - xandrius 2y ago
      I have unlocked understanding Japanese and it blew my mind how pervasive advertisements are. Most foreign people would just gloss over them but even most temples (say in Kyoto) have the names of companies which donated money plastered all over the place. Even the famous tori gates at inari have cool looking Japanese text which basically says "Applebees", "Yamato Metal Industries", and so on.
account42 2y ago
We get those already so removing all the others is still an improvement. But we can outlaw paid product placements too.

93po 2y ago

we already have laws that make it illegal to accept money for certain circumstances, e.g. sex, bribery, extortion. Just make it illegal to accept money to promote products. I say this not because I think it's illegal but rather to challenge the status quo - i don't think there's a reason we couldn't do this other than humans being fragile and inflexible

wat10000 2y ago

Good.

tossandthrow 2y ago

These are ads and in many jurisdictions Also treated like ads. Weird that This is not the case in the US?

Aerroon 2y ago
They aren't all ads, because the situation gets really muddy. If a website talks about an upcoming movie is that an ad? What if they were shown the movie before its release?
- blitzar 2y ago
  Reviews are ads. Thats why these people call themselves "influencers".
  - oneeyedpigeon 2y ago
    Roger Ebert will be turning in his grave.
- Timwi 2y ago
  It's an ad if and only if it is mixed into an article that is not about the movie. If I click a link that says that the article behind it is about the movie, it's not an ad. If I click on a link to a comparison of PC networking equipment, then it's an ad because a movie is not PC networking equipment. This doesn't mean the movie article (or indeed the hardware comparison) can't be sponsored. It just means the ad shouldn't be able to be shoved in your face unsolicited.
  - querez 2y ago
    Ok, so you have a review article about PC networking equipment, sponsored by Cisco. That's an ad for you. Now you go to the homepage of the site that wrote that review. They link to that review from their home page. Is that an ad? Probably, because it could contain an ad-like image as its banner (showing Cisco equipment) and maybe even a slightly ad-ish title ("Cisco outperforms other networking equipment in our recent review of x articles"). So, is another page, that links to that page also an ad? Because maybe the homepage that runs Cisco-sponsored reviews might also have a cisco-sponsored banner. And even if not, maybe over time they become associated as "the thing that reviews things were cisco always wins"... Oh, and what if it wasn't a sponsorship. What if instead Cisco just gave them the hardware to test at a discount? Or for free? Would you not write a slightly more favourable review for nvidia if they gifted you their top-tier GPU? What if instead of gifting you the GPU, they just give it to you at a discount? Or earlier than normal customers? Or they just have nvidia-stickers for your kids in the box? Ads are an extremly slipperly slope, they're part of human nature; everyone I ever met is trying to tell me about (=market) themselves, their beliefs, their current hobbies, that new burger place down the road, ....
- AdamN 2y ago
  It's not all that muddy under normal circumstances - if there are payments to the producers then it's an ad. There is the problem in extremis though - a person gets a cameo on a show and then uses that to sell other products and in return helps out the producer in some non-obvious way. It's an issue but I'd be happy with a 90% solution over a 0% solution.
  - quietbritishjim 2y ago
    Ok but what if you're allowed to watch the movie/game/etc. for free before general release? That might not seem like payment, after all it's just necessary to allow the review to happen. But what if review sites that give a few bad reviews are denied this access? And no one wants to read reviews after release? In the end, on paper, the studio has no editorial oversight, but in practice you need to give them good reviews (essentially, adverts) if your business is to survive. This is exactly how it works, by the way.
    - kassner 2y ago
      Would they get to watch it for free if they release their review months after the movie is released? If no, then it’s an ad, with just a very low price.
- prmoustache 2y ago
  Well most hollywood movie productions are just 1h30 ads nowadays. You can usually see ton of product placement with closeup on logos and products that do not make any sense for the storytelling.
arrowsmith 2y ago
If you grew up in Europe, I promise that when you visit the US for the first time, you will be SHOCKED by America's advertising standards (or lack of them.) Advertising is everywhere, everywhere, everywhere, everywhere, to an extent far beyond what you're used to from home. Posters, billboards, fliers, TV commercials, product placement, celebrity endorsements - you can barely step outside without being bombarded by yet another obnoxious advertisement. And "obnoxious" is an understatement: American adverts are noticeably more loud, garish, cheesy, repetitive and attention-grabbing. It's really quite something. And it's exhausting.
- blueflow 2y ago
  Experience it yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6QUsx68DCA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6QUsx68DCA
  - arrowsmith 2y ago
    Amazing. Reminds me of a joke from an old South Park episode. The boys are watching something tragic and awful on the news, then it cuts to a ridiculous commercial that completely trivialises the tragedy. I can't remember the details (does anyone know what episode I'm talking about? Got the clip?) but it's a hilarious satire of how the news media operates. That CNN clip is basically South Park in real life.
- ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
  > American adverts are noticeably more loud, garish, cheesy, repetitive and attention-grabbing. I take it that you have not been to Tokyo or Seoul, then?
  - xandrius 2y ago
    I have unlocked understanding Japanese and it blew my mind how pervasive advertisements are. Most foreign people would just gloss over them but even most temples (say in Kyoto) have the names of companies which donated money plastered all over the place. Even the famous tori gates at inari have cool looking Japanese text which basically says "Applebees", "Yamato Metal Industries", and so on.

account42 2y ago

We get those already so removing all the others is still an improvement. But we can outlaw paid product placements too.