Wired interstitial advertising

Posted on April 11, 2003 @ 14:55 in General

I just tried to visit the Wired website and was presented with a HUGE "interstitial" Intel advertisement. Interstitial means that the advertisement takes up the whole screen, just like a commercial on TV, and you need to click to pass through to the real content of the website.

Only... I use Opera 7 and I have cookies, including session cookies, turned off for all websites. Result: I cannot, repeat CANNOT, access the main content on the Wired website.

Yeah, I know, some people think I'm sometimes too stubborn and too principled, but this has had the following two consequences so far: 1) I will do my utmost best to never ever again buy something that has anything manufactured by Intel in it and 2) I wrote an e-mail to Wired, using Mozilla to get past their obnoxious advertising:

Dear Wired,

The interstitial advertising I encountered on your website today, prevents Opera 6 and 7 from accessing the main content on your website.

I think this is counterproductive, very intrusive and should be fixed. Don't tell me to turn on cookies, because I won't. I don't mind advertising on your website, just as I don't mind it in the print version of the magazine, but I do mind that the advertising makes it impossible for me to access the content.

I trust you will fix this problem soon, otherwise I will have to have to stop visiting your website, ritually burn my complete-since-Issue-1.0 collection of Wired Magazine and refrain from ever buying another issue of your otherwise very enjoyable magazine.

Thank you very much and kind regards,

Frank Schaap.

Moral of this story: if you want to sell stuff, do make sure your mode of communication is appropriate AND technically sound, or you run the risk of creating the adverse effects. *grumble*mutter*

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