this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2023
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Ya know, I wouldn't mind ads,
If google would just FUCKING LISTEN TO MY CURATING DECISIONS!!
No, I'm never going to buy a car based off an ad. Block em all.
No, I'm never switching insurance companies based on an ad.
No, I'm not interested in mobile games. Ever.
And yet when I tell google, block this content, not interested, I don't want to see this particular topic.
It just doesn't fucking listen.
You'd think this would be an absolute GOLD MINE of information that google would want, to better focus their ads,.
But they just ignore it,
It's not about linking people to stuff they are interested in and taking a percentage... it's about wasting everyone's fucking time, and then they wonder why people run ad blockers.
More often than not, adverts are about brand awareness. You might not buy that car based off that advert right now, but when you do decide to buy a car, you'll remember that brand name and they become a consideration.
I hate adverts.
It still has to be remotely relevant to me. If they showed me 10 different cars that look like Mini's aesthetics, hey, I'd probably keep those in mind. Instead they show me 5 SUVs and 5 pickup trucks, and unless I actually start to make enough money to start that llama-petting-zoo-cafe I dream about in my worst work moments, I will never need or want either of those vehicle classes.
Research shows it still affects you, though. You'll have more brand awareness, whether you want to or not. Everyone in the US & Canada know what a RAV4 and Forester are. You don't need that explained to you when your coworker tells you about their new car.
And even if you don't drink pop at all, you still know Coke is better than Pepsi.
This kind of stuff makes me sad, in a way. Knowing there are people with psychological degrees whose job it is to ""indoctrinate"" people with marketing and advertisements to minmax profits.
Pepsi still better than coke though.
I do know what a Rav4 is, because my coworker drove one, but without looking it up I don't know what a Forrester is.
But also, I think you're confusing the studies that show that all people are susceptible to marketing, with saying that all people are susceptible to all marketing, which is not what studies show. Nor is there such a thing as marketing with 100% market penetration.
Believing that all marketing works on everyone is just as false as believing that there are people whom no marketing works on.
I do have brand awareness, if i get ads shoved in my face about a brand, that brand goes into a shit list to NOT buy from
Do you tell your friends how shitty that brand is, so they can go and check it out for themselves...? 😜
They say there is no such thing as bad publicity. Even if it's only people who think you're full of shit, who go check out a brand you criticize, that's still working as advertised.
Veblen goods can also benefit from brand recognition by people who can't afford them. It's why Rolex, Ferrari or Lamborghini advertise to everyone, so the rich kids know they can flaunt their wealth in your face. Interestingly, the likes of Bentley barely advertise outside of their target market.
What’s funny is Google pushed me to turn off all my targeted ad preferences + watch history on YT. I basically did what you did and they started pushing me PragerU and other weird conservative ads, so I just straight turned everything personalized off. And pretty much stopped using the platform.
Less popular ads can pay more to get shown, so while Google charges by the click, at some point fewer clicks from a less targeted ad at a higher price, can make them more money than more clicks from a more targeted ad at a lower price.
And yet... that's still less enshittification than with the likes of TikTok. Expect for it to get much worse.
Statistically you will buy that so the ad companies pay google to ignore your prefferences.