Net Video Ads: Attention Vs. Annoyance

By ANICK JESDANUN, AP Internet Writer, Technology / Internet

Yum Brands provided this screenshot of directdaniella.com, a Taco Bell-sponsored Web site offering a virtual photo shoot with Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Daniella Sarahyba. Marketers and Web sites alike are struggling to bring to the Internet ads that resemble television without turning off viewers the way TV ads often do. (AP Photo/Yum Brands)

(AP) -- Frank Harper is well aware that all those free video clips on the Internet come at a price: advertising. But that doesn't mean he sits idly as short video ads precede many of the dozen or so clips he watches each day at sites like Microsoft Corp.'s MSN.

Content from The Associated Press expires 15 days after original publication date. For more information about The Associated Press, please visit www.ap.org .

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Posted by superhuman 03/17/08 05:06

Rank: 5/5 after 1 vote

I HATE adds! I never watch them, our memory is not infinite and every add that makes an impression on you takes away either your weak memories of the past or your brains plasticity (either way thats much more then I'm willing to part with).
Text adds are fine as they wont steal your attention the way movement and voice does.

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Posted by earls 03/17/08 11:25

Rank: 5/5 after 1 vote

There's no such thing as an advertisements on the Internet, only spam. Websites provide free content by selling opportunities to spam their users.

Personally, I instantly distrust and disregard any and all "advertisements" immediately, regardless if they're text, image, flash, etc. Rarely do they actually take you to valuable or useful content and more than likely - MORE ADS!

It's a false market with absolutely no positives and no one can escape it (or has yet) because there's so much money changing hands.

For those not in the know, download and install Firefox then search for "Adblock plus" which will keep you high and dry from spam on almost all sites.

I love the debate over the legality and morality of using such technology.

Oh, and props to Wikipedia (Wikimedia) for being one of the few sites to buck the trend.

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Posted by David6502 03/17/08 13:53

Rank: 5/5 after 1 vote

Some adverts are so badly targeted they are just a complete turn off and discredit the web site hosting them. Take Physorg for example. There are adverts here for "running your car on water", adverts from creationist propagandists and adverts peddling "theory of everything" quakery books.

The adverts are so badly targeted they've annoyed me to the point of installing AdBlock plus onto Firefox. Now no adverts at all. It great to see an advert free internet again.

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Posted by alee 03/17/08 21:42

Not rated yet.

I hate internet ads, but not as much as t.v ads.
The introduction of explicit material to internet advertisement is however riveting and just turns the world "wild" web into a harbor for internet perverts.