# When does advertising become obtrusive to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 11, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-advertising-become-obtrusive-to-you/701020 "2014-10-11T02:55:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-advertising-become-obtrusive-to-you/701020/41 "2014-10-14T03:03:19Z")
Autoplay ads are the worst of the bunch. I miss the early days of the web with amateur sites detailing the history of squash or similar esoterica. However, I almost whipped something at the TV screen tonight due to the commercials, political and otherwise. The more ads I see for something, the less likely I will ever purchase it or use its services, HondaWeatherTechLite, etc. I don’t find radio ads as intrusive, and don’t mind the gas station pump screens at all. But yes, public media and SiriusXM are about the only services I use (besides local TV news) willingly. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-advertising-become-obtrusive-to-you/701020/42 "2014-10-14T04:25:30Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Ehhh, I’ve learned to live with all of it, for the most part. I definitely don’t let it get to me like some of you guys here do. What I _do_ take issue with, and quite strongly at that, is T.V. commercials that suddenly, without any manipulation from me, get much, much louder than the program or commercial before it. That is obtrusive and I feel like it’s done intentionally, because it happens SO often. Apparently, it IS, and there have been campaigns to have it legislated, or so I’ve heard. (I’m too lazy to look it up at the moment.) The only ads I really, REALLY hate are perfume samples in magazines. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-advertising-become-obtrusive-to-you/701020/43 "2014-10-14T05:06:53Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Apparently, it IS, and there have been campaigns to have it legislated, or so I’ve heard. (I’m too lazy to look it up at the moment.) It’s called the [CALM Act](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_Advertisement_Loudness_Mitigation_Act) and it’s been in place for a couple of years now. No idea on the effect, though. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Mama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5ac83/32.png) [@Atomic\_Mama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Mama)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-advertising-become-obtrusive-to-you/701020/44 "2014-10-14T05:10:26Z")
Advertising, and marketing, are ALWAYS OBTRUSIVE to me. I guess I’m easily offended and a hard sell at the same time. :eek: :smack: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/848f3c/32.png) [@The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Holdsworth_Effect)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-advertising-become-obtrusive-to-you/701020/45 "2014-10-14T05:48:21Z")
My current most unfavorite is a huge bigbox pet equipment chain, which I USED to patronize for the coupons. Their ads show on dog forums, and make the WHOLE page unreadable until you click the x. This happens everytime you change topics. Imagine the banner above this covering the whole page! Adblock is looking better and better. I don’t listen to any radio with ads, only see movies in one small theater in town when they do simulcast Metropolitan operas, and don’t watch television except on Wednesdays when I pick Himself up at the Husband Day Care (aka pub), and there the sound is muted and closed captioning even for ads is pretty entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-advertising-become-obtrusive-to-you/701020/46 "2014-10-14T12:05:58Z")
Intentionally deceptive mailings. The other day my wife handed me a piece of junk mail that appeared to be government letterhead and had stuff about the Veterans Administration all over it. They used the logo and the letter included a case number and other official sounding things. It was actually mortgage refinance spam. I looked at the ant-sized print at the bottom and it said that they were not affiliated with the VA nor the US government and so on and so forth. This is unethical. No matter how they put it, they are trying to fool people. The teeny tiny disclaimer should not give them that right. > [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](#): > > Autoplay ads are the worst of the bunch. That is enough for immediate dismissal of the page. I close the tab after the first syllable. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-advertising-become-obtrusive-to-you/701020/47 "2014-10-14T12:31:29Z")
I go out of my way to watch well produced advertisements. My gf is in advertising and it is cool to hear her critique and give inside info on ads. ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-advertising-become-obtrusive-to-you/701020/48 "2014-10-14T14:47:23Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > I guess I have a high tolerance. Part of that comes from my interest in advertising. I used to enjoy receiving junk mail and studying it. > > But lately, it seems like ads on web sites are out of control. So many sites have autoplaying video ads, pop-ups, and hover ads. Ads with no “x” or that appear a few seconds after you start reading an article. The worst offenders seem to be News sites, web version of print and tv media. I assume that since they were late embracing the web they were also late in figuring out effective monetization. They have some of the most old-school annoying and obtrusive advertising. It’s been really sad to see what newspapers’ sites have become. \*The Denver Post’s \*is one of the least usable I’ve seen; it’s crammed with in-your-face advertising, and it’s ridiculously slow: I’ve got a connection that averages about 37Mbps, and whenever I try to load the _Post’s_ website, everything slows to a crawl. The \*Post \*gave away its content for much, much too long – I think they finally adopted a plan in which viewers can read a limited number of articles per month, but that was just in the last year. I never understood that business model after the Internet boomed: charge print readers (increasingly) out the wazoo, but give everything away for free online (and that was before their website became overrun with obnoxious advertising and was actually usable). You’ll notice I’m not linking to the \*Post’s \*website; I wouldn’t want to crash the Internet. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-advertising-become-obtrusive-to-you/701020/49 "2014-10-14T17:11:34Z")
I can block them out until they START SHOUTING AT ME FROM THE TV WHICH I’VE TURNED UP TO HEAR THE CONVERSATION BEING MUTTERED BY THE CHARACTERS. There should be a law against that. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-advertising-become-obtrusive-to-you/701020/50 "2014-10-14T17:13:15Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > It’s called the [CALM Act](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_Advertisement_Loudness_Mitigation_Act) and it’s been in place for a couple of years now. No idea on the effect, though. It’s not working… ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-advertising-become-obtrusive-to-you/701020/51 "2014-10-14T17:21:12Z")
> [@Staggerlee](#): > > I quite enjoy deconstructing adverts, as I like to to think Roland Barthes might, slouched critically, covered in Dorito crumbs. This made me literally LOL. AND I plan to share it with a friend of mine who’ll also find it amusing. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-advertising-become-obtrusive-to-you/701020/52 "2014-10-14T19:04:38Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > I’ve become almost intolerant to even the barest hint of advertising these days. I no longer watch TV or use the radio. I consider the Internet nearly unusable without ad-block. “Free” games with advertising get deleted immediately. > > Theater movies are about the only exception since there’s not much of an alternative if you want to see things on the big screen. Me too. I’m almost done reading books as well as the ads for the book on the back are annoying. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-advertising-become-obtrusive-to-you/701020.md?page=2)