Bad advertising on gmail Posted on January 30th
When Google started their Gmail service they attracted people to sign up on three main issues. The first, albeit implicit, but shouldn’t be ignored, was their Google branding. Second, thier killer offer was massive storage at a time when the primary established providers of free webmail such as Hotmail and Yahoo were rapidly contracting their already miniscule storage of 5mb to something around 2mb. Finally was targeted advertising. By utilising Google’s then outstanding search mechanisms emails would be scanned for keywords and adverts that users would be of increased relevance would be served to the individual. The advert is placed on prime location directly above the most recent incoming email.
I can’t speak for anyone else but in my case it is the only advertising that has been repeatedly successful in rousing my interest. I can confidently say I have clicked more gmail ads than any other advert online over the past 10 or so years since Ronald Reagan agreed to let the web become a commercial entity. Granted in the grand scheme of advert clicking to date it’s a drop in the ocean to most other web users but that only goes to prove how effective it really is.
Now things seem to have changed. The same stupid ads keep reappearing to the point of becoming a turnoff. Take this one from SIS/MI6. The hook it tries to attract attention with is by starting with the phrase British Political News. You can see the textad here. It’s a tad blurry to fit in the blog but you get the point.
Knowing it’s merely to recruit people I didn’t do anything with it but to a hardcore current affairs politics junkie like myself, clicking it like the proverbial conditioned lab rat, desperate for my next morsel of news heroin should have been the most automatic response, but it wasn’t. Granted I really, really did want to see what possible news could be on the site but the overall effect is sheer annoyance because I know what I’m going to get and it isn’t what I want. It’s a con and what’s worse for both Google and the advertiser is that I feel like I’m being conned and that’s not good for business.
Take the other ad on tonight’s gmail which keeps recurring. It’s an ad for The Sun.
Being a reader fan of the heavies such as the FT and suchlike, The Sun isn’t my sort of thing. But for you dear reader I decided to take a hit and click the mutha and here’s what I came up with.
The first results are over a year old. The rest even older. The only payoff a potential Sun reader or political type like myself would get from this are entirely negative.
As for the SIS/MI6 ads, I can really see why aiming for people who are politically literate and an infinitely keener interest in current affairs than most would appeal to Her Majesty’s Government. The question is, what would someone like myself get from it? I probably already get my political/current affairs jollies to a much higher level than they would provide to most of their minions. I have no James Bond phantasies and see no attraction in being a member of a secret club. As for helping my Queen and Country, I have always seen those types as much of a danger to the security of The State in that their default position is to unthinkingly overreact and create just as much havoc to The State as those 1968 types who wish to smash it.
So please Ms & Mr SIS, please get those bloody ads out of my Gmail.
