Remember “pop under” flashing online ads for security cameras from a company called X10? In 2001, the company’s site was the 4th most visited on the web.
Then text ads by Google changed the game.
While blinking, noisy interrupting ads still live online (that means you, Sprint), thankfully they don’t show up on — or under — every single website.
This New York Times piece from November 2005 on the rise of Google text ads is worth a read. The writer frames a world in which Google forced web advertisers to tone down visual assaults, but today’s “page takeover” ads and “roadblock” ads are a clear reminder that traditional interruption tactics from television won’t stop, even if we’re adept at tuning out.
And what became of the security camera company X10?
They’re still around with loud pitches (home page), but it appears keeping a company blog up to date is harder than spamming the Internet.
Photo credit: mag3737 on flickr
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