Ad-filtering technology leader eyeo and The Harris Poll released Digital “Ad-tastrophe”: Consumer & Industry Perspectives, a whitepaper featuring exclusive consumer research alongside commentary from a range of media and marketing ecosystem stakeholders. The paper takes on the question of whether or not the industry has lived up to its promises to improve digital ads and the web experience since ad blocking first rose a decade ago—and the answer is a resounding “no.”
Results from the whitepaper’s in-depth survey of 2005 U.S. consumers show that the ecosystem’s initiatives have not done nearly enough to solve the problem. And the issues have compounded as users are living digital lives well beyond the browser.
For example, despite concerns about online security and privacy, consumers reported that intrusive ads were a bigger pain point:
● Among connected TV (CTV) users, 69% found online ads ‘extremely, very or somewhat frustrating’, contrasting significantly with lack of security (55%) and privacy (57%).
● For desktop users, online ads were the top frustration at 73%, outranking lack of security (65%) and privacy (64%).
● Tablet users also ranked online ads as their biggest frustration, at 74%, compared to 61% for lack of security and 59% for lack of privacy.
● Mobile browser users experienced even higher frustration with online mobile ads at 79%, versus 69% for lack of security and 68% for lack of privacy.
● On mobile apps, in-app online ads were the most frustrating, according to 81% of, compared to 76% for lack of security and 74% for lack of privacy.
Drilling down further, when asked to choose the single most frustrating online ad on the apps/devices they use, consumers selected ads in gaming apps as ‘most frustrating’ by the largest majority (25%). Ads in movie or TV streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu came close behind (21%), followed by ads in video platforms such as YouTube (15%) and ads seen within mobile browsing apps (14%).
Consumers also expressed concern over digital devices collecting personal data for targeted advertising, either by tracking web browsing (81%) or by monitoring their conversations through device listening capabilities (77%).
“About a decade ago, when ad blocking first emerged, a series of initiatives and coalitions were born. Their aim was to improve the quality of digital ads, and better the overall user-experience on the web,” said Frank Einecke, CEO of eyeo, in his introduction to the whitepaper. “Despite numerous industry efforts aimed at making ads that are better, more respectful, and more effective, the problem persists, and in many ways, worsened. Resistance to change and an overall lack of traction for some of the proposed changes have kept progress stalled.”
The overwhelming majority (89%) of respondents agreed that there should be a limit to the number of ads they are exposed to online in return for access to free content, as well as restrictions on their level of disruptiveness. The same percentage (89%) stated that they want better control over the ads they see when using the internet on their devices.
When asked who should be responsible for controlling the number of ads that could be shown and/or their disruptiveness when they visit a website or stream content, respondents identified multiple stakeholders as having a role:
● Tech companies (i.e. Apple, Samsung, etc.) – 58%
● Independent agencies that set ad standards (i.e. IAB, AAC, etc.) – 53%
● Adtech/media industry – 53%
● Brands/advertisers – 49%
● Government agencies (i.e. FTC, FCC, etc.) – 47%
● Consumers themselves – 40%
“What is particularly interesting about this research are internet users’ views of who holds the responsibility for regulating the disruptiveness of online ads,” said John Gerzema, CEO, The Harris Poll, who also penned an opening letter to the paper. “They feel responsibility does not fall to a single stakeholder but should be shared across the adtech/media industry, government agencies, and brands/advertisers. Internet users themselves even acknowledge that they share this responsibility. Change cannot happen alone, and each group will need to take accountability to avoid backlash by falling short.”
Along with the survey findings, the paper includes observations from publishing executives from Raptive and Publisher Collective; media and advertising insiders from Kargo and Mindshare; marketers from Dometic and WildAid; and an academic at the University of Tennessee and University of Florida, who previously held senior positions at Sam’s Club and Tombras and currently consults.
In addition to sharing thoughts on the state of digital advertising and the programmatic landscape, these industry experts point to potential ways to better balance the value exchange going forward in the media/marketing industry—emphasizing that AI could exacerbate the problems or conceivably help find a solution.
Methodology
The research was conducted online in the U.S. by The Harris Poll on behalf of eyeo involving 2005 regular internet users who own both a smartphone and a laptop/desktop. The survey was conducted 08/12/-08/26/2024. Data are weighted where necessary to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population.
About eyeo
eyeo is dedicated to empowering a balanced and sustainable online value exchange for users, browsers, advertisers, and publishers. By building, monetizing, and distributing ad-filtering technologies, eyeo creates solutions that allow all members of the online ecosystem to prosper. Its ad-filtering technology powers some of the largest ad blockers on the market, like Adblock Plus and AdBlock, and is distributed through partnerships to millions of devices. eyeo currently serves 350 million global ad-filtering users who consent to Acceptable Ads, an independently derived ad standard that determines whether an ad is acceptable and nonintrusive.
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