I remember the days before the internet was "cool;" the days when streaming video quality sucked; the days when sponsored ads had their rightful place (unobtrusively to the side of the internet content being consumed). Now-a-days we as internet surfers/consumers can't even scroll through a newsfeed without being visually assaulted by some product for sale or discounted service offering.
Today, it has gotten worse! As soon as one of the older internet geeks such as myself get used to a commercial in front of a video, e-media providers such as CNN.com throws a 30 second commercial RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF a video. One second I am watching ordinary Americans bitch about President Obama putting his foot on the desk within the oval office, and the next second I am watching the Planter's Peanuts guy dance around with a cane, as if he was delighted to interrupt my viewing pleasure and sell peanuts... worst of all, the little commercial timer was smacking around my dismay with every little second that passed from the 30 second mark! This is a marketing approach that is just NOT A.D.D. compatible... or is it?
You see, the video would have been a mediocre internet had it been exactly what the thesis with in the first 10 seconds offered: People are pissed at the President's shoe (on a desk).... but it was not about the President's shoe (on a desk), it was about the President's shoe (on a desk) for 45 seconds, the Planter's Peanut guy kicking the crap out of my attention span for 30 seconds, and then 45 seconds of the President's shoe (back on the desk)!
Most interestingly, the guerrilla marketing tactics only appear to happen on media delivered via smartphone. You can navigate to the CNN website and play videos all day without a commercial ambushing your viewing pleasure. What makes smartphones more appealing to such "drive-by" marketing strategies? More unnecessary video on a smartphone just takes away from newly limited cellular data plans...
Bottom line, CNN expected to give me a 30 second advertisement unexpectedly. What they got in return was a 10 minutes blog post about why I hate their media delivery. Although I may be a decrepit 29 year old man complaining about things now versus how they used to be, The greater question I pose to you is: Does this marketing tactic annoy you as well, and would it change your consumption behavior towards a similar media provider?
