So, do ads actually work?

[Thundercrack85]

These days I get hit by ads so much (even with adblocker) that I barely notice them. I treat them more like loading screens than anything else. But I have to wonder, do they actually work?

Has seeing that 5 second video you skip on Youtube actually caused you to buy something? I guess it might work on a more subliminal level, but I can't really think of an example in my personal life.

 

[BeserkerHilf]

Try uBlock Origin. It manages to kill CinemaBlend autoplay videos. Love it.

 

[KevanG]

There have ben tests done and they show that unless its something fairly amazing then ads just don't stick in the public mind for more than a few minutes at best.

Consider the Old Spice commercials with everything exploding. People remember that but I doubt sales went up that much.

Because we get bombarded with ads so frigging often, we've become somewhat immune to them.

 

[Hotwire]

If anything, ads make me avoid certain sites. Knowing that I'll have to click past an ad just to read the next sentence in a photo caption keeps me from clicking the article all together.

 

[Donner]

I think ads work.

I just think of the campaign that De Beers (the diamond company) started after WWII. People just weren't buying enough diamonds for their liking (wonder why), and so they started advertising, equating love with diamonds. Diamonds are forever. They were also the first to suggest a man should spend 2 months salary on an engagement ring. They were also the ones to up it to 3 months. I hate what they've done.

Given how much money is spent on advertising and how much money websites can make through it, I would say ads work better than we like to admit.

 

[BrollySupersj]

They work at annoying me.

 

[SuperSanchez]

If an ad annoys me, I will make sure I stay away from the product or brand and give it bad reviews