the compulsion to show people ads at all times and in all possible locations really is bizarre. how is that, of all things, what continually drives massive businesses? it's so meta and empty and undesirable to so many people, how has that become the norm?
The thing is, it doesn't actually work. Each boost in obnoxiousness gains the advertiser a temporary boost in revenue before a) everyone else does it too and b) people get inured to it. It's a race to the bottom and what we're seeing now is the finish line rapidly approaching.
If advertising had stayed where it was in 2003, it'd still be making just as much money but without the malware, tracking or ad blockers.
@suetanvil @bob having worked a bit creating software for marketing people, I can tell you that the sane among them know their own business is bogus. the correlations between advertising spend and change in any meaningful business outcome are so weak no one in their right mind would believe them. it's superstition imo
