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Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Assault Ads Everywhere

WSJ Marketplace, December 13, 2010 headline : Marketers Test Ads in E-Books. What? You've got to be kidding me, and yet, I'm not shocked. If there's money to be made somewhere, anywhere, then advertisers will fill a slot. Supposedly, it's not like ads will just pop up randomly as you read. Instead, there will be prescribed placement on the endsheets - no doubt very discreet and tasteful. Until people absolutely say, "No. Stop. We refuse the product," insidious advertising shall prevail.
Christmastime brings out the urgency of advertising. We've been assaulted by sale ads since Halloween. The fate of the economy rests on American consumers, and maybe we are protesting a bit by not opening the wallets quite so wide. Actually, I'm not against advertising per se. It serves a purpose in the message delivery system. I'm against much of the timing. I don't need that extra ad sticker slapped on my newspaper, obliterating top headlines. I certainly don't think I need an ad scrolling along an e-book page as I read Jonathan Franzen's Freedom. Much of reading is escape. Please don't let the real world intrude. What do you think?

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