An inhuman ad is a term coined by Mozilla, the builders of the Firefox browser, which refers to adverts that display online in rather weird locations. This is how Mozilla describes inhuman ads…
“When you see an online ad and you can tell there’s no way a real live person would’ve published it, you’re looking at an inhuman ad. It could be something ridiculous like an ad for fried chicken with a story about a massive poultry recall. Or it could be utterly tone deaf like a local jeweler advertising beside a picture of a starving child. It’s the natural outcome of an online advertising marketplace mostly run by money and robots.” – Mozilla
The Inhuman Ads Campaign
Mozilla wants to remove these adverts from our browsing experience stating the campaign is an opportunity for humans to clean up the mess created by automated ad placement. The idea is very simple. One browses with the Firefox Inhuman Ads extension and notifies Mozilla when they see adverts that are placed in obviously ridiculous locations.
What Can Advertisers Learn from the Inhuman Ads Campaign
Display advertising is automated, that is advertising using Adsense and on the Display Network. There are many ways to target with display advertising but it is important to understand what you are getting. Display advertising can be quite costly without much return as it is essentially designed to act as a “reminder” you exist, rather that Search Network advertising, which is very keyword specific.
Display advertising is recommended for new brands/businesses that wish to increase awareness. Mozilla has raised the question of display advertising quality. Do you want your fishing products to be displayed next to YouTube videos of vicious and vile anglers who treat some of the most amazing fish like dead meat while they are alive and kill them in the most inhumane way?
This is something for display advertisers to seriously think about. The only way you can check is manually, it’s a lot of work but we think it is very well worth it.
If you need some help and better management of your display advertising, get in touch with us at RD right away.