Ad-versarial

(My mum’s on her tablet, browsing eBay, when she sees a gambling advert she doesn’t like. It’s in the middle of the screen with bright, flashing colours and an animated leprechaun.)

Mum: “How do I get rid of this ad? I don’t like it.”

Me: *not really paying attention* “If it’s offensive or something you can report it to the company that’s hosting the ad.”

Mum: “Oh, there.” *starts typing*

(I glance over; she’s gone to the eBay feedback page, rated the entire page ‘very dissatisfactory’ and typed in the feedback box ‘Offensive. Gambling! Racial stereotyping.’)

Me: “No, Mum, that’s the eBay feedback page. They don’t control the ads that are shown; they just have the billboard. I think Google runs the ads on eBay. Is there a link to the Google ads’ feedback page? It should be under the ad.”

Mum: “What? eBay should do something about it.” *goes to click ‘submit’*

Me: “No, wait! That’s like, if you got a nasty Facebook message and you phoned up BT Broadband and told them their service is terrible and offensive. Google has the ads; eBay just provides a place for Google to put them.”

(She clicked ‘submit’ anyway! She has a doctorate in a scientific field, so I wonder if people get to a certain age and then all technology just becomes a total mystery…)