Banana Republic Mad Men Collection ad to the right of screen

[Winchester]

I was typing a response to a post and suddenly the Banana Republic ad started to play. I didn't click on it; I didn't roll my mouse on it. I did nothing. I don't respond to any of the ads on this site. But it started playing. There was absolutely no way to turn the ad off....no X, no CLOSE, nothing. The only way to get out of it was to close the site down and re-open.

Any way to stop this from happening again?

 

[whaler]

what browser are you using?

 

[Anne]

Sounds like a nasty ad indeed. We make a point of not allowing such ads on our site. I will pass the report on to the ad sales team and see if they can locate which network was sending this one and block it.

By the way, it's possible that the ad wasn't delivered by any network associated with TCS, but was "forced" into your browser by a piece of malware that you have on your computer. That would have been my first explanation, had you not mention Banana Republic. I'd like to hope a reputable company wouldn't be sending ads over malware.

 

[Winchester]

Thanks, Anne. It only happened that one time.....just typing along answering a thread and suddenly, "WT heck?" And it was definitely the same ad from the side of the screen.

Whaler, I'm using Chrome.

 

[duckdodgers]

I also had a similar ad, but I don't recall if it was Banana Republic or not.  On matter of principle I try not to read internet ads.

I don't mind ads in the margins, but let's just say I was not pleased with this one...
 

 

[whaler]

Thanks, Anne. It only happened that one time.....just typing along answering a thread and suddenly, "WT heck?" And it was definitely the same ad from the side of the screen.

Whaler, I'm using Chrome.

the thing that is causing it are LSO supercookies that have been planted on your computer from various tracking and marketing websites (like google-analytics, iesnare, doubleclick, etc.) . they track your surfing trends and then hit you with ads. it has nothing to do with the website you are on, there only has to be a pre-programmed trigger to set the ads off like a tiny piece of script or even a certain link that the LSO responds to.

best and easiest way to deal with it; first, ace chrome and install firefox. once you have firefox running install adblock plus https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/adblock-plus/?src=search, BetterPrivacy https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/betterprivacy/?src=ss and NoScript https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/noscript/?src=ss

you can pretty much use all three "right out of the box", and change settings as needed down the road. with these installed you should not encounter any ads at all, but from time to time one or two "slip by" until the blocking filters are updated to recognize the new ads.

 

[Anne]

I would actually appreciate it if people did not use add-ons to block ads on TCS Advertising is what's paying for this site. If you prefer not to have ads, you can buy a paid subscription and switch off the ads.

The more people block ads and tracking cookies (the lifeline of affiliate marketing), the harder it is for smaller privately-owned sites like TCS to exist. You'll be left with nothing but big-name websites that share information in return for branding.

That said, it's a careful balance between revenue generating and user experience. I draw the lines at pop-ups and any kind of obtrusive ads. I have asked our support team about these Banana Republic ads, but they need more information in order to try and track them down and see if they're even generated on the site. If you see one of these ads again, could you please take a screenshot and share it here or PM it to me? Also, if you place your cursor on the ad, right-click and select "Copy link location" then paste it into the PM, or here, that would really help us track the offending network (if there is one).

 

[whaler]

i wholeheartedly agree that ads are crucial for many sites (like this one), so disabling adblock plus is a must on those sites.

part of the beauty of the add-ons i always recommend is how simple it is to allow what you want where you want it. one click and adblock plus allows ads on a specific site (like tcs) - or you can allow only "non-intrusive" ads everywhere . better privacy is easily configured to allow LSOs to delete on shut down. no-script gives a middle click view of the specifics of the script that is loading - to me that is a key as nowadays the safety/security of script can change in a minute, so the ease of checking out the current status is invaluable.

sadly, i have had far too many people hit me up for tech advice due to them being "naked" in the wild west of the internet.

 

[Anne]

Update on the ad -

Turns out this was indeed served by an advertising agency we work with. We're testing various kinds of new ad formats, hopefully targeted and fun to watch. They're not supposed to auto-play though, and should only be activated if you hover with your cursor over them for at least three seconds. Also, they should have a way to close the ad, so I forwarded your feedback to the folks in charge of that.

Last, but not least, I do ask again that users please do not use ad blockers. If you wish to browse TCS with no ads please consider getting a subscription. This will allow you to turn off ads altogether while still supporting the site -

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/becoming-a-tcs-supporter-through-a-paid-membership