1) Adblock Plus faced public backlash when it decided to allow certain "leaner, cleaner and less intrusive ads" on sites through its ad blocking software as part of its Acceptable Ads program. 2) The outcry focused on concerns about the monetization of ads, the ethics of Adblock Plus profiting from ads after working to block them, and the software no longer serving its sole purpose of blocking all ads. 3) Adblock Plus argues that it is trying to improve the user experience by proposing new ways of delivering targeted ads and saving the online environment from intrusive ads, not rejecting ads altogether, and that this approach could help fix problems with online advertising.

1. A CASE STUDY FOR SOCIAL MEDIA ON ADBLOCK PLUS AND
THE ACCEPTABLE ADS PLATFORM RECEPTION
10 MIN READ

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“ADS ARE BAKED INTO CONTENT LIKE CHOCOLATE CHIPS INTO
A COOKIE. EXCEPT, IT’S ACTUALLY MORE LIKE RAISINS INTO A
COOKIE - BECAUSE NOBODY FUCKING WANTS THEM THERE.”
LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER

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#WHO IS GUILTY
THE OPENING STATEMENT
Although John Oliver is referring to a specific kind of ad scheme,
one designed to blur the line between editorial content and
advertisement, it is only one of the many tricks the current
insular world of web advertising pulls on users.

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AD BLOCKERS ARE
A CONSEQUENCE
OF AN INDUSTRY
THAT HAS BECOME
I N T O L E R A B L Y
I N T R U S I V E
SO WHY DID A LOT OF PEOPLE GET ANGRY WHEN
ABP DECIDED TO ALLOW LEANER, CLEANER AND
LESS INTRUSIVE ADS THROUGH THE GATE?

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THE PEOPLE V. ADBLOCK PLUS
A(D)MERICA HORROR STORY

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#CONFUSSION
THE EVIDENCE
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM
The outcry can be viewed through three pillars: money, ethics
and purpose. Users arguing against the changes are focusing
on the monetization of ads, the morals of the middle man (ABP)
and the death of a tool for which the sole purpose was to
provide them one service: no ads whatsoever.

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“YOU’RE SELLING ADS NOW, GREAT!”
“YOU WORK TO KILL ADS FROM THE INTERNET THEN COME AROUND TO
SHOW US ADS THAT YOU CAN MAKE MONEY OFF? IS THAT EVEN ETHIC?”
“I REMOVED IT AND INSTALLED UBLOCK IMMEDIATELY”
W H A T D I D T H E P E O P L E S A Y ?
M O N E Y
E T H I C S
U S E

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T H E D E F E N S E
A C O U N T E R M E A S U R E S O C I A L M E D I A S T R A T E G Y

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#OPPORTUNITY
THE MEDIA COVERAGE
HANDLING THE PUBLIC BACKSLASH
C. S. Lewis said integrity is doing the right thing, even
when nobody’s watching
ABP has been doing the right thing by always standing
with the user, but now the user has forgotten what we
stand for.

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LETS US NOT SEE PROBLEMS BUT INSTEAD SEE
OPPORTUNITIES.

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#AWARENESS
CONSUMERS [THE USERS] ARE NOT HAPPY TO
FIND A PRODUCT [ABP] THEY CAN NO LONGER
RELATE TO
OUR RESPONSE:
WE MADE A DIFFERENT
BETTER PRODUCT

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#REACH THE AUDIENCE
THE INVESTIGATION
PUTTING THINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE
Surveys are great ways to measure attitudes so companies
can set up metrics to rethink their product, improve it,
disrupt the market and hopefully have a positive outcome.
But statistics are not always appropriate for communicating
good ideas.

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WOULD YOU USE
AN AD BLOCKER
ON YOUR
TV?

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In 2017, TV ad spending will total $72.01 billion, or 35.8% of total
media ad spending in the US.
How would you react if I tell you that in 2017, the total digital
ad spending will equal $77.37 billion, or 38.4% of total media
spending?
This will mean that for the first time in history, digital advertis-
ing spending will surpass that for TV.
#POLLUTION

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WHAT IF
YOU COULD
BLOCK ADS
ON THE STREETS?

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In 2006, São Paulo passed the “Clean City Law”, banning all outdoor
advertising: 15,000 billboards were removed and store signs had
shrink in size so as not to violate the new law.
Did this ‘ad ban’ cause widespread panic and suffering to local firms?
It actually encouraged them to find new and improved ways to reach
customers. Many launched their own public stunts or viral campaigns
on the streets. Others embraced social media and began to interact
directly with their local customers.
#EVOLUTION

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THE ACCEPTABLE ADS PROGRAM PERCEPTION
COMMUNICATING A GAME CHANGER
The Brazilian ad ban taught businesses a valuable lesson: bom-
barding customers with a visual traffic jam was never going to
make an impact. And with more money funneling into digital
advertising, things are only going to get messier.
Adblock Plus understood the long term solution is not the
rejection of ads but saving the online environment by
proposing new ways of delivering them.
#REVOLUTION

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“THE AD-BLOCK PROFITEERS OFFER TO LIFT THEIR TOLL
GATES FOR THOSE WEALTHY ENOUGH TO PAY THEM OFF,
OR WHO SUBMIT TO THEIR DEMANDS THAT THEY CONSTRICT
THEIR FREEDOM OF SPEECH TO FIT THE SHACKLES OF THEIR
REVENUE SCHEMES.”
RANDALL ROTHENBERG, CEO OF THE INTERACTIVE ADVERTISING BUREAU (IAB)
T H E P R O S E C U T O R

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CAN YOU HANDLE THE TRUTH?
The solution won’t be driven by a trade organisation such
as the IAB or other lobbyists, it will come by force. Players
like ad blockers are forcing the bad actors to adapt or die.
AD BLOCKING IS NOT A UNIVERSAL MEDIA PROBLEM, IT’S AN
ONLINE ADVERTISING PROBLEM AND THE ACCEPTABLE ADS
PROGRAM IS A BIG STEP TOWARDS TRYING TO FIX IT.
#INNOVATION

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#VALUE
MEMBERS OF THE JURY
THE CLOSING ARGUMENTS
What long term value is ABP trying to achieve? We need to
reinstate the message which has been lost: we aim to offer
a better user experience for everyone.
How? By telling the public (users) that embracing and
allowing a marriage between content and ads is the future.