This may be a hot take here but I do not actually hate the concept of “paying money to promote a product or service”. However, in practice I can hardly think of an advertising method that I find tolerable in the slightest due to the manipulation tactics. When you look at vintage photos advertising is usually some hand painted sign on the side of a bus stop that says “Try Zuckerman’s Flour!” I don’t hate that, but we also don’t have that.
Back in the good-ish days of reddit, they had ads that I actually appreciated. They were clearly labeled as ads and had a different color, were at the top of the feed only, so once you scrolled past the first one you were done, and we’re essentially just sticky promoted posts, so they had comment sections.
You could find honest reviews of the products in the ads. Shills we’re identified and down voted into oblivion, so the real shit tended to land on top. It encouraged advertisers who actually had quality products on offer and who understood their audience. They were the only online ads that ever led directly to me buying a product.
This may be a hot take here but I do not actually hate the concept of “paying money to promote a product or service”. However, in practice I can hardly think of an advertising method that I find tolerable in the slightest due to the manipulation tactics. When you look at vintage photos advertising is usually some hand painted sign on the side of a bus stop that says “Try Zuckerman’s Flour!” I don’t hate that, but we also don’t have that.
Back in the good-ish days of reddit, they had ads that I actually appreciated. They were clearly labeled as ads and had a different color, were at the top of the feed only, so once you scrolled past the first one you were done, and we’re essentially just sticky promoted posts, so they had comment sections.
You could find honest reviews of the products in the ads. Shills we’re identified and down voted into oblivion, so the real shit tended to land on top. It encouraged advertisers who actually had quality products on offer and who understood their audience. They were the only online ads that ever led directly to me buying a product.
“Hey this thing is here” and “have this problem try this” are useful enough that even without paid ads people make that content.
The lifestyle manipulation, feeding unfounded fears, biases, anxieties, and rage for almost anyone reason is evil to me.
100% agree