Why can targeted advertising be smart enough to show me ads at home for something I searched on my PC at work, but not smart enough to not show me the same ad 10x in a row or for services for which I’ve already subscribed?
In: 128
There are different levels of targeting. Some things are directed at you specifically because of your search and purchasing habits. Other things are directed at you more generally based on your demographic information.
For example, if you look for a bike part, you’ll get a bunch of ads for more bike related things because you’ve identified yourself as a person who buys bike things.
If you’re a woman in her twenties/thirties, you’re going to get a bunch of advertising related to pregnancy and having children, regardless of whether or not you have or want children, because you are in the prime “going to have a child” demographic. The same is true for other goods and services—the company identifies what their target customer looks like and the ad servicer shows those ads to people who fit that profile.
It’s not really about being “smart” enough to target you, it’s about the level of targeting. Plus, streaming services often have an ad free option, so they really don’t have much incentive to make your ad experience pleasant/nonrepetitive. If you get annoyed enough, you’ll pay them more to have the ad free tier.
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