Remember the days of the pop-up ad? The annoying windows that wouldn’t go away, ruining your web browsing experience, are a rarer sight these days.
Even worse was the “pop under” ad, less obstructive than its sibling but even more insidious, lurking under your browser window and cluttering up your desktop.
Video or audio ads that automatically play when you visit a site, those that stretch across the screen and obscure text, ads that include large attention grabbing images, advertisements that try to sail under the radar as someone else… the list goes on.
What some companies and sites rely on to keep the lights on can be an annoyance to users, leading to the rise in the number of tools available to wipe them from your screen.
If you have a certain level of technical expertise, the first thing you do after you set up your new laptop or even just a new internet browser is to try to minimise the number of ads that come your way.
One of the most popular of these AdBlock Plus.
The extension, which has more than 50 million users, not only blocks annoying, unwanted ads, but also disables tracking, meaning you can browse in peace without your moves being followed by online advertisers.
Beginnings
It began in 2006 as an open source project created by Wladimir Palant, separate to the existing Adblock extension.
In 2011, he teamed up with Till Faida, who had previous experience in marketing, bringing a new perspective to the project and possibly a solution to the problem of how ad-dependent websites could survive if a large number of visitors blocked ads consistently.
“I completely get why people don’t want to see obnoxious ads on the web,” Faida said, adding that they decided to team up and try to find a “reasonable middle ground” that worked both for the users and also for the websites.
“Adblock Plus had become so popular that we felt there was also a responsibility to ensure it does not become a destructive force for the internet and the ecosystem.”
The way around it is the Acceptable Ads programme. That is the result of a collaboration with the AdBlock community participants and contributors to the open source project, which revealed some of the pet peeves and hates of web users when it came to ads online.
The system isn’t’t automated just yet. Instead, AdBlock has made agreements with some websites and advertisers that only advertising meeting certain criteria will be used – a slightly contentious issue for some.
It's these agreements that are funding the AdBlock Plus project.
Consumer reaction
Despite the obvious clash between the original ideology of AdBlock Plus and the concept of paying to be included on "approved" ads lists, consumers don't appear fazed by the move.
The downloads are at two million a day, and it has passed the 30 million mark.
"We've grown tremendously. Users are clearly ok with it. Some advertisers aren't, and some publishers, but we know it is a controversial topic," AdBlock Plus's Ben Williams said. "We're fully aware of the criticisms, but we're growing fast."
Crucially, users can opt out of the Acceptable Ads programme, Faida said. “It’s a really small number of users that take that extra step,” he said. “It’s really encouraging.”
And if users want to support a website, they can choose to disable the adblocker altogether.
The programme has also helped to shape a change in advertising, with agencies and site owners encouraged to move away from the more intrusive ads – ones that weren’t having much effect if users were blocking them anyway, Faida said – and towards less disruptive ads that are ultimately hitting the target and getting some user engagement.
"You rely on advertising to work. If it doesn't work, and everyone is ignoring and blocking the banners, they can't reach you," said Faida, adding that there was encouraging signs of the start of innovation within the market. "What really hurts the ecosystem is that ads don't work, not that they are blocked. We need better ads."
Mobile sector
However, with so many consumers now moving towards the mobile sector, the need for the technology to adapt is crucial.
The mobile sector is in danger of treading the same path as the web, something that could hinder the sector.
But adapting the technology presents some challenges. The iOS system is difficult for the software, the company said, because it’s a closed system, as is Windows Phone. With Android, the task is equally daunting.
Williams explains that there is a decision to be made whether to block just ads on mobile browsers or throughout the whole ecosystem; the latter is a more difficult task, as many apps are ad-supported.
It’s an area that AdBlock Plus is determined to crack, however, promising “exciting things” for mobile coming down the track.
While AdBlock Plus may not necessarily mean the end of advertising while on your smartphone or laptop, it may just help make ads a little bit less irritating.
