Have you succumbed to those
persistent pop-ads and gotten your
X10 miniature spy camera yet?
Traditional banner ads don't sell as well these days,
so advertisers
are employing a new tactic to get
their messages in front of
Internet viewers. These new ads include "pop-ups" and "pop-unders"
that automatically open new windows, as well as full-screen
commercials that last several seconds before the desired
content can be viewed.
A recent report from Statistical Research says people are 50
percent more likely to notice a pop-up than a banner ad
which means advertisers are not likely to stop anytime soon
since the ads are getting noticed.
The ads generally take advantage of browsers' JavaScript
functions, dynamic HTML programming code and Flash animation
- features that were supposed to improve the
Web experience. Some ads only work with newer
versions of Microsoft's Internet Explorer or on Windows
computers.Statistical
Research's data showed that 62 percent of those surveyed
felt strongly that pop-ups interfere with their Web
activities. Pop-ups are also under fire from disability
groups, who say they disrupt devices used by the blind to
surf. Pop-ups clog bandwidth and can eventually lead to
system crashes, which is one of the reasons a group of irate
pop-up victims brought a class-action lawsuit against
America Online last year.
"Pop-ups can be dangerous and irritating unless the
creativity is really good," said Doug Jaeger, interactive
creative director for the advertising agency TBWA/Chiat/Day.
He said repetitive campaigns like the pop-under ads
for X10 wireless cameras "almost abuse a technology and a
format."
A study by Cyveillance, an
Internet measurement company, found that 30 percent of the
top U.S. sites and 13 percent of all sites use pop-up or
pop-under windows. Five percent trap users at Web sites
through such techniques as disabling the "back" button,
sometimes accidentally. Others change home page settings or
place software on a user's computer without clearly getting
the user's permission.
Intrusive ads also waste time
and money - particularly for foreign users who generally pay
for Internet access by the minute, said Jakob Nielsen, a Web
design consultant in Mountain View, California.
What can you do about
intrusive pop-up ads? One option is to contact the site
generating the pop-up and complain. YumYum.com, a recipe
site, got complaints within a day or two of running
"pop-under" ads for X10 cameras and NextCard credit cards.
The site quickly dropped them.
Another option is to take
direct action against them with software that blocks them
from appearing. There are several versions available, some
of which are free. Check out the
two sites featured above for some excellent anti pop-up
programs. |