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[darkrider2]

People don't actually come to them to see their advertisements, right ?

You use the internet for something else?

[Aklyon]

Well, I'm fine with them doing that. Maybe it'll give us a chance to have a VoIP program with more options than just stark white background.

[Duuvian]

Punching robots are a bad solution, as they cost too much. It's better to hire some illegal immigrants to assault people while screaming advertisement. It's not as far-fetched as it sounds. In my country, MTV hired people to spray their logo on pavements. It's, of course, illegal, so they denied everything and claimed it's the work of independent street artists.

But if you don't feel like breaking law today, there are other options:

1. Flood. If they spot your advertisement even for a microsecond, you win. You can print a lot of leaflets - at least street cleaners have to pick them up. Or make them big. Or put them in the places which no one can afford to ignore - for example, on cars.
2. Annoy. It's OK to be obnoxious if they notice. Feel free to scream, use flashy colors, annoying sounds or voices. Bonus points if you repeat the same thing several times to ensure no one remains disinterested. They may be resentful right now, but they will be grateful that you didn't let them pass up your amazing offer.
3. Avoid mediocrity. It's not OK if the actors in the commercial are only excited. They should be enthrilled by the prospect of buying bananas 10c cheaper than anywhere else. People should hear in their voices that it's only thing that matters in their life: to buy bananas in your shops. Make it feel authentic somehow.
4. Use disguise. Buy out reviews (or just refuse to deal with those who reviewed your product unfavorably). You can also hire people to stalk forums and post thinly-veiled advertisements disguised as normal users. It's not suspicious at all if all posts of a specific user encourages others to buy something.
5. Whine. Ensure that people know how immoral is blocking ads. Claim that people visiting portals and sites should feel obliged to watch the advertisement there, otherwise they are thieves who access their content without paying for it. Hey, RIAA does it, so it can theoretically work!

Great post. You just described my daily headshaking at the Yahoo news comments section. It's obvious someone with an interest in a particular political ideology has hired a company to spam it up but nothing is done because profit.

[Frumple]

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/06/skype-calls-to-feature-ads-big-enough-to-interrupt-any-conversation/

'hurf durf, it gives you something to talk about!'

yeah, it lets you talk about how annoying that advert is that interrupted your present conversation.

No, no, it will lead to discussion on how to find those responsible, so that you may track them down and lay an ancient curse upon them, damning them to misfortune unto the sixth generation.

This misfortune will manifest as an inability to stop themselves from purchasing whatever every sixth advertisement they observe offers. Each generation, the frequency will decrease (Every twelfth, every eighteenth, etc.), until the seventh (assuming their progeny still exist) is free from the curse.

[darkrider2]

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/06/skype-calls-to-feature-ads-big-enough-to-interrupt-any-conversation/

'hurf durf, it gives you something to talk about!'

yeah, it lets you talk about how annoying that advert is that interrupted your present conversation.

No, no, it will lead to discussion on how to find those responsible, so that you may track them down and lay an ancient curse upon them, damning them to misfortune unto the sixth generation.

This misfortune will manifest as an inability to stop themselves from purchasing whatever every sixth advertisement they observe offers. Each generation, the frequency will decrease (Every twelfth, every eighteenth, etc.), until the seventh (assuming their progeny still exist) is free from the curse.

The curse first invented by the great wizard of advertisement, his name is only spoken in whispers, Billy Mays.

[penguinofhonor]

4. Use disguise. Buy out reviews (or just refuse to deal with those who reviewed your product unfavorably). You can also hire people to stalk forums and post thinly-veiled advertisements disguised as normal users. It's not suspicious at all if all posts of a specific user encourages others to buy something.

I've heard of companies actually doing this in real life. Hire someone to walk around in public showing off your product somehow and you've planted it in their mind by making them at least a tiny bit more familiar with it than the competition.

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/06/skype-calls-to-feature-ads-big-enough-to-interrupt-any-conversation/

I like how it's supposed to be good for their users, but paying users get out of it. Why would you want to deprive them of such a helpful feature?

[darkrider2]

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/06/skype-calls-to-feature-ads-big-enough-to-interrupt-any-conversation/

I like how it's supposed to be good for their users, but paying users get out of it. Why would you want to deprive them of such a helpful feature?

So basically they are advertising subscription accounts, while fooling their clients into thinking that they were the ones doing the advertising.

[Gantolandon]

I've heard of companies actually doing this in real life. Hire someone to walk around in public showing off your product somehow and you've planted it in their mind by making them at least a tiny bit more familiar with it than the competition.

Actually all of them are used in real life. Paid forum users are a well-known tactics - they usually stalk portals and thematic forums.

[Loud Whispers]

I've heard of companies actually doing this in real life. Hire someone to walk around in public showing off your product somehow and you've planted it in their mind by making them at least a tiny bit more familiar with it than the competition.

Actually all of them are used in real life. Paid forum users are a well-known tactics - they usually stalk portals and thematic forums.

I agree.

_{WASHING MACHINES ARE SO COOL}

[penguinofhonor]

I've heard of companies actually doing this in real life. Hire someone to walk around in public showing off your product somehow and you've planted it in their mind by making them at least a tiny bit more familiar with it than the competition.

Actually all of them are used in real life. Paid forum users are a well-known tactics - they usually stalk portals and thematic forums.

I meant "in real life" as in "not on the internet".

[Aqizzar]

I've heard of companies actually doing this in real life. Hire someone to walk around in public showing off your product somehow and you've planted it in their mind by making them at least a tiny bit more familiar with it than the competition.

Not only do they, but it's hardly anything new.  First thing that comes to mind is liquor companies paying people to go to bars and talk up their products.

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/06/skype-calls-to-feature-ads-big-enough-to-interrupt-any-conversation/

I like how it's supposed to be good for their users, but paying users get out of it. Why would you want to deprive them of such a helpful feature?

So basically they are advertising subscription accounts, while fooling their clients into thinking that they were the ones doing the advertising.

It's ingenious really.  Hook people into your service, then give them a really shitty reason to pay for "premium" service that works exactly like the service they always had before.  And if they don't, ad money.

Of course, the great thing about the Internet is that every time a free service turns unacceptably freemium, a new free service springs up to replace it.