Sticker ads: print's pop-up nuisance

Pop up ads touting everything from Classmates.com to subscriptions to Time magazine continue to torment Web users everywhere. And while pop-up ad blockers are now a feature in nearly every browser, they remain an ongoing source of annoyance. Which is why, of course, they have now spread to newspapers in the form of sticker ads.

Last week, the Boston Globe arrived with a yellow sticky on it touting it as the new way to reach consumers. This morning, it arrived with an honest to goodness car dealer ad on it. And, unlike 3M's wonderfully forgiving Post-It notes, these stickies have serious adhesive on them. That means that when you try to remove the sticker so you can actually read the article beneath, it, part of the article comes away with it. Nice. And so consumer friendly too.

Look, we all know newspapers are in trouble, but annoying your subscribers is not the way out of that trouble. Today's Globe already had three letters to the editor protesting the practice, and I would bet you'll see more in the days and weeks ahead. To paraphrase one of those letters, the message behind these ads is clear: subscribers should view the paper online if they want to actually read the articles.

Don't be surprised if one of those articles reports that the Boston Globe is struggling financially. Any business that is willing to degrade its product for its customers to sell another ad isn't likely to win new subscribers -- and in the process will put itself out of business.

Technorati Tags: Advertising, Marketing, Newspapers, Publishing, Boston Globe, Sticker ads