When I first started my blog page, I noted (at least temporarily) that my page would be free of advertising. There were a couple of reasons for that. The first reason was that I felt that advertising was unnecessary for my page, and would take away from what I was trying to achieve. The second reason was that it did not seem worth the time and effort to make just a few dollars a month.
My decision hasn’t changed. The time and the effort to make just a few dollars a month still isn’t worth it.
What has changed in the past couple of years is how intrusive advertising has become. In the two years since I started my blog, most of the traditional billboards on my drive to work have been converted to digital billboards. Because the advertisements change every 10 seconds or so, I think I am more likely to look at them. So are you.
Taxi cabs now have “seat back TVs” that can’t be turned off or avoided. So do airplanes and airport baggage carousels. And both taxi and airport TVs play a lot of advertising.
The supermarket is full of unavoidable advertisements. The ads are on the floor, the overhead speaker, and on all of the shelves.
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I thought that advertisers knew all of the ways to intrude into my peace and quiet, but recently I experienced a new low. I saw a “box truck” ahead of me on the turnpike that appeared to be glowing from a distance. This truck was driving about 1-2 blocks ahead of me. As I drove closer to it, I saw that the back of the truck, and both sides of the truck, were actually digital displays that were playing advertisements while the truck was moving. The effect was hypnotic- I did not want to look, but I couldn’t help myself.
What will advertisers NOT do in order to advertise their products?