AOL allows users to opt out of creepy ads
AOL already owns Advertising.com and is looking to acquire another ad networks similar to text-links broker Quigo, according to a source. And it's rolling up its motley collection of ad plays into a new unit, Platform A. Today AOL announced a new system to allow users to opt out of ads targeted to their online behavior, like the websites they visit. Some users are creeped out by the thought, so AOL's letting them decline the ads. Here's how the news affects others.
That AOL feels it needs to back down on behavioral targeting exposes one potential flaw in Facebook's SocialAds master plan, for example.
One reason users might want to opt out of behavioral-targeted advertising is that it can make you feel as though someone or something is watching your every move on the Internet. This an accurate feeling, of course. Especially if you're a Facebook member.
But not everyone knows that yet. Behavioral targeting makes it clear. Imagine if you were sending a friend an email on AOL about Saw IV with a friend, and then saw an ad for the DVD on CNNMoney — like AOL, a Time Warner property and an Advertising.com customer.
The Saw IV ad is possibly a better match for your declared consumer desires than an ad from Barclays Capital, which would be targeted based on demographics and CNNMoney's financial content. But would the Saw IV ad's appearance on a completely unrelated site creep you out? Publishers might worry it would. And if publishers don't buy the idea, the ads won't run. That's why when Facebook launches its network, it should make clear it's following AOL's lead.
