However, there are some traits I'd still like to see in ads:
- they live in a dedicated box that doesn't make it harder to read the actual content. I focus on one thing at a time. If it's the content, it's not the ads. If you make a good ad, it might be your ad
- they don't flash or animate to distract my eyes
- they would ideally have some (textual) content I could pause to read for details if I'm interested
- they wouldn't necessarily change all the time: it would be nice to have the same ad placed on a site for a week or two, so I could come back to it if I find it interesting. Print media has this advantage. I still remember some iconic ads from my youth. I have absolutely no idea which ads, brands, or names I've happened to see online today
- they don't hog my cpu, my gpu, or my battery; they don't get to execute code or try to spy on my online life: just a nice image is enough
- youtube and other video services wouldn't serve ads longer than 10 seconds: it is about the time I can still hold my attention to continue with the video. Placing two-minute ads in youtube episodes just causes me to mute the ad and continue watching some other video. I wouldn't mind a few 10 second clips of reasonably well-matched ads in a programme that lasts half an hour.
I understand someone has to pay for the bandwidth and service but the only way an advertiser can get to visit my head is to ask gently, humbly, and make it worthwhile for me. Flashing, popping, intruding or forcing is not going to make it. This is why we have adblockers.