Ranting to /dev/null

It's not quite as bad as all that

Kuro5hin has an essay, a morbidly depressed essay, which bemoans the encroachment of advertising in just about every open space available.

"Remember when there were no ads on top of taxis? On the sides of buses? Remember when there were no coupons on the back of grocery receipts? Remember when there was no ad on the handle of the damn gas pump? Remember when there were no f-----g SUV ads on the big screen before a movie? Now, as I stand at the grocery checkout, I hold up my ATM card to swipe it through the reader, and I see, even there, in the tiny blue letters of the readout, the message: "GOT ICE?"

Yeah, I remember. But you know what? I don't particularly mind all that much. Internet researchers have described what they call "banner blindness", the inability of frequent Internet users to actually see advertising on pages. I myself "suffer" from this, in that I automatically and subconsciously separate between content and advertising, to the point that I actually don't see the ads. using Mozilla to filter them out doesn't hurt either, but even on sites I've never been to before the products advertised never even register with me.

I find that the same is true for me elsewhere too. Stick an ad in the paper and my mind will entirely skip it as I read. I don't see billboards. I have to exert special effort to pay attention if I want to find a gas station on the Interstate because I really won't remember seeing signs for one. And logos? It's like the space they occupy is blanked out.

So as much as cramming ads into every available square inch does strike me as kind of soulless, I'm not all that bothered by it. I won't see them, even if they are there.

Posted by ryan at June 2, 2004 04:44 PM | TrackBack