This quick article on the effectiveness of the pop under ad got me to really thinking about why they have become so popular so quickly when I know they don’t work and are a constant annoyance now. The answer is simple enough, people who generate their revenue from Internet advertising are desperate, grasping at anything that will make them money with no concern for the consequences. It’s clear that no one has figured this advertising on the Internet thing properly. It’s also clear to me that pop under ads are not the answer, nor are banner ads, or rich media advertising and I can’t see clearly what the solution is.
I spend hours a day on the Internet, surfing through content, news and reference materials. I can't ever remember, in the many years I have been doing this, looking at a banner ad and then clicking through to buy a product. To be frank, I don't even see the banner ads anymore, nor has making the ads larger and more intrusive increased my awareness of advertising in a positive way. Even on the page that the article appears on, I didn't acknowledge the ad in the middle of the article until I went back and looked for it. I can't really draw any conclusions beyond the fact that there is very clearly a void here, a business pain that is seeking a solution.