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Garrett Jones

Kelli Fitzpatrick

ENGL 250

16 October 2023

Research Project

Advertising in recent years has gotten so specific that the Target corporation was able to

figure out that women were pregnant - even before the women themselves knew. Targeted

advertising has become a common practice in the Advertising industry, and it is due to the

invention of the Internet. Targeted advertising functions by combing through data that is

collected by third parties, which is then sold to the advertisers, which is then used to cater

advertisements to your specific interests and values. Many consumers are unaware that their data

is being collected in the first place as they click the “Agree” button without reading the terms

and conditions document attached. Although many would consider it sneaky, when users click

the agree button, they legally give these websites access to any data outlined within the contract.

This usually means the websites are able to sell the user data to third parties, which then sell it

off to advertisers. Many people value their privacy but are unaware this is happening with their

data; however, there are also others who enjoy having their ads catered to their specific traits.

Companies should be required to be more transparent with users about the data they collect and

how it is managed. This paper aims to explore the arguments for and against targeted advertising

and user data, as well as to offer solutions to best move forward for both users and companies.

To provide context, digital advertising as a whole initially kicked off in 1998 with the

“Dot Com” bubble. This is when the internet first started seeing major growth and adoption from

both companies and consumers around the world. Before this point, advertising was what you
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think of when you think of “traditional advertising,” print ads in newspapers and magazines,

commercials on television, audio ads on the radio, and other ads like posters and billboards.

Digital advertising was described as “the new gold rush” as it was still very new and rapidly

growing. In Adland: A Global History of Advertising by Mark Tungate, “In 1998, the top 50

internet advertisers in the United States had spent only US$420 million on offline advertising. In

the first two months of the following year, the dotcoms increased their a spend by more than 280

per cent” (Tungate). This quote helps to provide context for how rapidly the industry changed

within a matter of months. Since that time, the industry has only continued to grow and change,

with the introduction of targeted advertising in recent years. Because of this constant rapid

growth, there are not many laws in place to help protect users when it comes to these ads. When

digital advertising was first introduced, ads were not catered to any one specific user, they were

much more broadly targeted. This means advertisers would still have access to limited data but

would be able to target larger demographics instead. For example, if you were to visit a website

about home improvement, you would likely see an ad for tools or home improvement stores in

the ad spaces on that website. However, those ads would not follow you when you visited other

websites; they were specific to each website page.

First, there are many people on the internet who care about their data and online privacy

but do not have the knowledge of how their data is being managed or how to protect themselves.

As mentioned before, websites do include a link to the terms and conditions of their website,

however, these contracts are often quite long and have complex wording, which makes it difficult

for the average user to understand what they are agreeing to. There are some companies that are

attempting to help stop the tracking between websites or at least help prevent harmful ads from

being shown. One example of the latter is Apple. In recent years, Apple released a feature on
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their devices that allows users to opt out of the data collection methods advertisers typically use

to obtain user data. “[Consumer Privacy Laws] prompted tech companies like Apple to develop

opt-out features that prevent apps and websites from collecting data from users. This has

challenged app developers and marketers alike to adapt and look for more creative ways to

collect data” (Froehlich). Although this is a step in the right direction, it is not a perfect solution.

Facebook is not making any steps to protect users from data collection, but they are attempting to

protect vulnerable users from ads that may trigger traumatic experiences or cause users to

develop self-worth or self-image issues. “Facebook has some rules that may stem some of the

damage that could come from certain targeted ads. For example, Facebook’s policy is that ads

can’t target people based on their medical history, or make implications about a person’s medical

condition. They also can’t include unlikely before-and-after images or other content that tries to

generate negative self-worth to promote diet or health-related products” (Nudson). An example

of the type of harmful ads Facebook attempts to block are ads for a weight loss program that

boasts unattainable results, like going from 350 pounds to 120 pounds. Although these examples

are steps in the right direction to protect user data, they still do not help provide transparency to

users.

On the other hand, there are some users who are completely aware of their ads being

targeted to them and that their data is being collected and sold but are unbothered by the idea.

Research shows that when websites were required to tell users of data collection, interaction with

ads significantly dropped. However, several companies have been able to use targeted

advertising with considerable success, except they are very obvious about their intentions.

“Amazon features shopping ads throughout its site, making product recommendations based

explicitly—and often conspicuously—on individual users’ search data, without seeming to draw
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any consumer ire whatsoever” (John). A few examples of this front the Amazon website is when

they provide ads for “based on your search” results and “customers also bought” items. These

ads manage to get the same results as other targeted advertisements but do not receive the same

backlash as they are relatively explicit about why you are being shown each specific ad. This

type of obvious advertising is preferred by customers; when users find they are being shown

targeted ads to an extreme level, there can be a lot of backlash. As mentioned previously, the

Target corporation famously used targeted advertising to send coupons for maternity items to

pregnant women; the only issue is Target was able to figure this out before some of the women

were able to. In one case, this happened to a teenage girl who was unaware that she was pregnant

and ignored these ads. However, when the family later found out that she was indeed pregnant,

her father was furious and rallied others against these ad practices, which were soon after retired.

This was likely a failure because of the “covert” nature of this ad style. If the ad had stated

something along the lines of “based on your recent browsing,” the ads would likely not have

been controversial at all. A similar method is found on streaming platforms like Netflix or

YouTube. Most streaming platforms contain an algorithm that suggests content based on your

watch history and whether you liked or disliked the content you watched. For example, if you

watched “Suits” and selected the like button on Netflix, the platform would likely suggest a show

like “The Lincoln Lawyer” or “Law and Order.” Another example is if you binge-watch a horror

movie series, you would likely start getting “because you watched” suggestions for other horror

movies. From the feedback of users, although they prefer not to be tracked, they would like to be

explicitly told if an ad is targeted to them.

Lastly, there is a bright side to this situation, and that is that most online services collect a

minimum amount of data. “However, contrary to what most consumers may think, most digital
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apps and platforms collect fundamental information. When they do gather data on online

behavior, the information is used strictly for user experience purposes” (Froehlich). Although

this is good news, this just goes to show that even the small amount of web services that do

collect data end up collecting a large amount of user data. The issue surrounding user data

collection and targeted advertising is largely due to these web services, which will likely only

change their methods if forced by public outcry or government intervention.

Ultimately, user data is a large concern for many on the internet, but lack of transparency

and information makes it difficult for most to be in control of their own data. Based on research

and user feedback, if forced to have targeted ads, users would much rather have advertisers be

blatant about the fact that the ad is catered to them specifically. Many companies have attempted

to use “covert” methods to show targeted ads to users, which may work in the short term, but

once users discover this, companies face major backlash. In the future, companies will likely

continue to improve upon features like the “opt-out” feature from Apple to the point where

companies are not able to collect any data at all. Alternatively, governments may intervene and

help provide guidelines or produce laws that will help users protect themselves and their data

online. There are valid points provided from both perspectives, and there will likely be more

developments in the advertising industry, especially regarding targeted advertising, in the coming

years that will hopefully protect users while still allowing advertisers to carry out their intended

purposes.
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Works Cited

Tungate, Mark. Adland a Global History of Advertising. 2nd ed. London: Kogan Page

Ltd., 2013. Print.

Nudson, Rae. “When Targeted Ads Feel a Little Too Targeted.” Vox, 9 Apr. 2020,

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/4/9/21204425/targeted-ads-fertility-eating-disorder-corona

virus.

Froehlich, Nik. “Council Post: The Truth In User Privacy And Targeted Ads.” Forbes,

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/02/24/the-truth-in-user-privacy-and-targete

d-ads/. Accessed 16 Oct. 2023.

John, Leslie K. et al.“Ads That Don’t Overstep.” Harvard Business Review, 1 Jan. 2018.

hbr.org, https://hbr.org/2018/01/ads-that-dont-overstep.