Has it happened to you recently? You’re reading an article on
the New York Times — or another
reputable site – on your phone, you’re almost to the punch line, and all of the
sudden you receive a pop-up announcing that you’ve won something big in a
sweepstakes you’ve never heard of. Yes, there is that fleeting moment of
jubilation, but it’s quickly dashed by annoyance and despair when you realize
it’s just a hoax.
While similar versions of these pop-ups have been around for some
time, the recent surge of new versions that have evolved on the mobile web are
particularly burdensome because they can freeze your browser with a pop-up
"notification" that leads nowhere, and in some cases, even blocks
your “Back” button.
What has enabled these new, sketchy ads that interrupt your
mobile experience? “Third-party ad servers that either don't vet ad submissions
properly for the JavaScript components that could cause redirects, or get duped
by innocent-looking ads that hide their sketchy code,” says Lily Hay Newman of
Wired.com.
As these phony pop-ups become more pervasive on first-tier publishers,
it may force advertisers to distance themselves from the traditional pop-up ad
and come up with new tactics to get their audience’s attention. While
traditional pop-ups — though annoying to most — have proven to be
effective in garnering click-throughs, they may be rendered less useful as
these fake ads pervade and platforms struggle to come up with a fix.
No comments:
Post a Comment