4 ms·

We are three clicks away from an “oh shit” moment for the web

• anigbrowl 11y ago
  Do we push brands and their agencies to do “better” ads? Do we push publishers and ad-tech to make less-intrusive ads? Yes. This would be the polite, adult thing to do. Do we take half a percent of every ad budget in 2016 and do a PSA campaign to educate users about the content they consume? 'Hi. I'm an ad man, and I'd like to stop lying for a moment and talk about something serious - my ongoing need for a high income. You see folks, those shows you like cost a lot of money to put together. In an ideal world we would just show you commercial messages all the time and you could pick and choose which ones to slavishly obey. But we know all that decision-making gets tiring and tedious, and that many of you would rather read a book or have sex or something, which means you're not taking part in the economy. So in the goodness of our heart, we gave you shows and characters and entertainments to give you enjoyable little rest periods in between the hard work of being a consumer. The only problem is, you've started treating these programs as an end in themselves instead of our little gift to help you watch our important commercial messages. Now we find you don't want ads on the websites you mindlessly click around either. This is very selfish of you! Think of all the poor boys and girls who will be unable to get jobs providing goods and services if you go on lying on the couch like a beached whale with a remote control watching other people live meaningful lives on TV shows when you could be shopping. Think about it, you idle bastards.'