NEWSLETTER #83/ SEPTEMBER 17, 2017
No Images? Click here
APPLE RIGHT, AD INDUSTRY WRONG
As usual, the tin-eared aristocrats of the ad industry are on the wrong side of an important issue.
Apple is planning to release a new version of its Safari browser with new cookie-blocking technology, called "Intelligent Tracking Prevention." It will put strict limits on the ability of websites and advertisers to track us across the web.
According to digital expert Don Marti it looks like Safari has built a set of features that will help protect us from the kind of tracking we don't like, while not screwing up features we like such as single sign-in to favorite sites (my words, not his.)
Apple has said “...users feel that trust is broken when they are being tracked and privacy-sensitive data about their web activity is acquired for purposes that they never agreed to.”
Damn right. I even know a guy who wrote a book about that.
Of course, all the major advertising trade bodies are soiling their shorts at the thought of not being able to know everything we do online. They are not satisfied that people are so disgusted with online ad practices that 600 million web enabled devices are now armed with ad blockers.
Listen to this horseshit from a consortium of ad trade groups including the 4A's, ANA, and IAB:
“Apple’s unilateral and heavy-handed approach is bad for consumer choice and bad for the ad-supported online content and services consumers love...Blocking cookies in this manner will drive a wedge between brands and their customers, and it will make advertising more generic and less timely and useful."
What planet do these imbeciles live on? Do they really believe anyone is going to buy that crap?
Here is a study published last year that reports that of 13 different forms of advertising studied, the top 8 most disliked were all forms of online advertising.
Furthermore the argument that Safari's "Intelligent Tracking Prevention" is "...bad for consumer choice..." is laughable. Any idiot who prefers to be followed around the web by assorted squids and slugs is perfectly welcome to download dozens of free web browsers that are more than happy to spy on everything you do.
Every impartial study I've ever seen says the same thing: Online advertising is the most disliked and most distrusted form of advertising. One of the primary drivers of this situation is tracking. When are the "leaders" of our industry going to get their heads out of their asses and realize how they are destroying the integrity of online advertising by not supporting initiatives like Apple's that are trying to establish responsible guidelines for tracking?
Land Of Oz
My speaking sojourn in Australia last week was a blast and resulted in lots of unexpected press.
It included this video interview with Australia's largest ad trade mag, Mumbrella and articles in B&T, and AdNews. I was also interviewed by their largest newspaper, The Australian, and sat for a podcast with AdNews and an interview with Sky TV. My hope is that this exposure will bring greater awareness of the dangers of online tracking.
Book Report
The new book is going very well. The eBook version should be ready in a few weeks. Reviews are starting to roll in. Here are some excerpts from Amazon reviews.
- "Buy this book and read it. Then read it again.. He has a way of explaining things that is easy to understand and entertaining as hell. I bought copies for clients...This is a must-read for anybody who has any interest in digital marketing."
- "A fast reading, charming, funny, engaging, and wonderfully insightful read."
- "Counter point in a sea of horse manure...Must read for marketers today."
