Why do people hate advertisements but still click on them?

[orangeparapat]

Like those weird mobile game ads where the video gameplay looks nothing like the actual game?

Exactly! Those exploit cognitive friction ("99% of people can't solve this puzzle!") to trigger your brain's urge to prove the prompt wrong. It’s pure psychological baiting.

 

[juliebee23]

Exactly! Those exploit cognitive friction ("99% of people can't solve this puzzle!") to trigger your brain's urge to prove the prompt wrong. It’s pure psychological baiting.

Wow, that’s infuriatingly clever.

 

[orangeparapat]

Wow, that’s infuriatingly clever.

Digital advertising is essentially applied behavioral psychology. Tech companies run thousands of micro-A/B tests on button colors, phrasing, and visual pacing just to exploit human micro-behaviors.

 

[juliebee23]

Digital advertising is essentially applied behavioral psychology. Tech companies run thousands of micro-A/B tests on button colors, phrasing, and visual pacing just to exploit human micro-behaviors.

Do click-through rates actually have to be high for all of this to be profitable?

 

[orangeparapat]

Do click-through rates actually have to be high for all of this to be profitable?

Not at all. Average click-through rates on banner ads are often under 1%. But when you serve billions of impressions daily, even a 0.5% click rate yields millions of high-intent visitors.

 

[juliebee23]

Not at all. Average click-through rates on banner ads are often under 1%. But when you serve billions of impressions daily, even a 0.5% click rate yields millions of high-intent visitors.

That puts the "billions spent" into perspective. You only need a tiny fraction of a percent of people to convert for the return on investment to make sense.

 

[orangeparapat]

That puts the "billions spent" into perspective. You only need a tiny fraction of a percent of people to convert for the return on investment to make sense.

Precisely. If an ad costs $0.50 per click and 1 out of 20 visitors buys a $100 product, the unit economics heavily favor the advertiser.

 

[juliebee23]

Precisely. If an ad costs $0.50 per click and 1 out of 20 visitors buys a $100 product, the unit economics heavily favor the advertiser.

So as long as human impulse, curiosity, search intent, and accidental taps exist, ads aren't going anywhere.

 

[orangeparapat]

So as long as human impulse, curiosity, search intent, and accidental taps exist, ads aren't going anywhere.

Nope. And as generative AI hyper-personalizes ad messaging and creative assets in real time, ads will feel less like commercial breaks and more like native content.

 

[juliebee23]

Nope. And as generative AI hyper-personalizes ad messaging and creative assets in real time, ads will feel less like commercial breaks and more like native content.

Which makes them even harder to ignore, even when we insist we hate them.

 

[orangeparapat]

Which makes them even harder to ignore, even when we insist we hate them.

Exactly. We hate the ecosystem, but we respond to the psychological triggers every single day.

 

[AdVanguard]

This has always confused me.

Everyone says they hate ads, yet companies continue spending billions on them every year.

Clearly, they’re working.

What’s your opinion?

THAT'S ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS KYLIEJANE, IT'S KIND OF A STRATEGY THAT US MARKETERS OR ADVERTISERS THAT WE PROVIDE THE MOST CRUCIAL OR HOOKABLE ADVERTISING CONTENT TO VIEWERS, WE CAN ALSO MAKE IT BALANCE IN ORDER TO CATCH UP WITH THE VIEWERS PERSPECTIVE BECAUSE AFTERALL EVERY SINGLE INDIVIDUAL HAS A SUBJECTIVE TASTE TOO DIFFERENT ADVERTISEMENTS THEY SEE.