Online Advertising: The Unseen Intrusion

Popup advertisements are the most annoying thing in the world and they are getting worse. Whether it be on a TV, the internet, or by mail advertisements are starting to take over in many areas of our lives, the scary part about it is many people are not aware what they are being exposed to. Many advertisements tell people that they need to product to look a certain way, to accomplish something quicker, or live a certain way. Making people feel that they need a product in order to survive is not the way to sell products, however many companies are taking that next step just to sell products. That is why Joseph Turow wrote “The Daily You” to open our eyes up about what is really going on with advertising these days. He targets how online advertising is taking over,

Anything on the Internet the user clicks on is great information for marketers. They will use that information to find patterns of consumers Internet activity and then place ads of similar products on other webpages the user frequents. Turow mentions a topic frequently within the book known as, “the click.” According to Turow, the click was a tangible audience action that media buyers and advertisers could use to ease their anxiety over whether people notice their persuasive messages or, even care about them (pg 36). Next to the click, Turow also discusses the term of “the long click.” The long click is the combination of tracking information from multiple social-media sites. The usability of the click led to the selling of ads by the cost-per-thousand model, which made it easier for marketers to analyze traits of the consumers viewing, and clicking on their ads based on previous website visits. Marketers are then able to decide whether a consumer is considered an appropriate target, or a waste of additional advertising dollars, because of that consumer’s tracked