Are online advertisements a part of the “dark market?” And would companies go to any lengths to reach their online target audience? An article titled “U.S. Army, Target, others advertising on pirate sites” explores the efforts of putting ads on illegal websites, while the advertisers themselves continue to be the most trusted and respected firms and organizations in the world.
In this information age, online advertisements are one of the most effective ways to reach the right viewers. Connecting interests to displayed ads, pop-ups and sponsored search results are nothing new to us: we can guess what the company is trying to tell us and we are no longer questioning these occurrences, perceiving them to be normal part of the internet. Seeing an ad for a shoe company you often make purchases from or an offer for a magazine subscription you would be interested in doesn’t alarm us: we trust the firms being advertised. This article talks about the issue that comes up when this trust is no longer there.
Ads from reliable organizations such as the National Guard, Windows 8, Allstate, AT&T, Chevrolet, Neiman Marcus, Wal-Mart and consistently show up on illegal piracy websites. With lots of finger pointing going on, the culprit for this incidence wasn’t found. Maybe the Ad Council, responsible for ad distribution is to blame; maybe the firms themselves, attempting to make extra profit from reaching new customers on these websites. One thing is for certain, when you hear the Head of the Transparency Project aimed to eliminate ads on piracy sites exclaim that you don’t know “where the ads are coming from, where they’re going and how they’re accounted for,” you no longer even consider clicking on them.
Full Article: http://www.csoonline.com/article/730916/u.s.-army-target-others-advertising-on-pirate-sites
This was a very interesting article. I thought one of the most interesting parts was the point that even though the advertising is on a illegal website, it was still aimed at the target market. Even though content piracy services are illegal, ads for the Military still showed up on a site primarily used by 21-25 year old males. Maybe the companies we “trust” so much know that they can defer blame or play dumb if an online watchdog calls them out for advertising on an illegal site. Blaming the Ad Council seems like too convenient of an out for them, and it makes them seem shady to me. If it was really unintentional, they should accept responsibility and make sure the ads cease.
This brings up an idea I had not really thought about. The websites themselves are breaking the law, they may not have been caught and or prosecuted yet but that does not change the actions they have taken. A reputable company that choses to advertise on an illegal website should lose their good faith. If you are paying money to advertise your company then you know all about the ad space you purchase. You know the company displaying it and how they are displaying it. If you haven’t done your homework you are still at fault. Ignorance is not an excuse. No one is their right mind would pay money for ad space they know nothing about. I think both the website and the company advertising on that website should be prosecuted. In the race to grab our attention companies seem to be doing everything they can and I guess that includes advertising on illegal mediums. However, putting myself in that position I’m sure that I would not have a problem advertising on a pirated website as long as I know my ad is reaching my target audience. Being a pirated website they would require less funds and until a law is passed to deem that action illegal I would take full advantage of it.