– ABP Forms Coalition of Organisations Calling for Better Ads –
Adblock Plus, the most popular browser extension for blocking annoying online advertisements, today unveiled a set of ‘Acceptable Ads’ guidelines in the form of an online Manifesto. The Manifesto is endorsed by a coalition of organisations that includes popular discussion site Reddit, Cluetrain Manifesto author Doc Searls and his new Consumer Commons; ad measurement firm PageFair; and the Anti-Advertising Agency.
Advertising is the economic engine that drives the internet, giving users free websites and great content. But many online advertisements have become obnoxious and obtrusive in an attempt to be heard. In response, hundreds of millions of consumers have installed adblockers, which further depresses click-through rates, causing advertisers to use even more intrusive and annoying methods to win back attention – and the vicious cycle continues.
Adblock Plus began its Acceptable Ads initiative in 2011 to encourage better ads. Today’s Manifesto – and its coalition of support – spells out explicit guidelines and makes clear suggestions for what a reasonable ad should look like in the hope that the advertising industry will see that it is in their best interest to reverse the vicious cycle. The Manifesto asks individuals and organisations to join in the call to action.
The basic tenets of the Acceptable Ads Manifesto are:
- Acceptable Ads are not annoying.
- Acceptable Ads do not disrupt or distort the page content we’re trying to read.
- Acceptable Ads are transparent with us about being an ad.
- Acceptable Ads are effective without shouting at us.
- Acceptable Ads are appropriate to the site that we are on.
“The idea behind Adblock Plus’ Acceptable Ads initiative is to forge a compromise between users and advertisers,” said Till Faida, co-founder of Adblock Plus. “Today’s Manifesto gives the type of ads envisioned in this compromise a clear expression.
“We think that this Manifesto is another step in the right direction to offer organisations and individuals alike the ability to join with us to communicate with advertisers our desires,” continued Faida. “We’re excited to have found like-minded organisations out there that understand what we’re trying to do.”
Links:
- Read and sign the full Manifesto here: www.acceptableads.org
- Install Adblock Plus for Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and Opera: www.adblockplus.org
- Download Adblock Plus for Android: https://adblockplus.org/en/
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About Adblock Plus
Adblock Plus is an open source project that aims to rid the Internet of annoying and intrusive online advertising. Its free web browser extensions (add-ons) put users in control by letting them block or filter which ads they want to see. Users across the world have downloaded Adblock Plus over 300 million times. It has remained the most downloaded and the most used extension almost continuously since November 2006. In 2013 PC Magazine listed the extension as one of the best free Google Chrome extensions, and it received a 2013 About.com readers’ choice award for best privacy/security add-on.
Follow AdBlock Plus on Twitter at @AdBlockPlus and read our blogs at http://adblockplus.org/
