The bombcast has returned to the days of old timey radio, where the guy presenting the content also presents the ads.
Ads support the content, but i'm a lot more likely to pay attention to them when a real person is presenting them.
Internet users hate ads, because all too often, they're just automated banners, popups and scripts. Theres a disconnect between the advertising and the content.
Theres a radio show host and podcaster who comes from a background in advertising named Terry O'Riley who does a great show on the topic on CBC Radio up here - and in one episode he stresses that advertising is a contract. Not between the sponsor and the content, but the sponsor and the consumer. We accept advertising, because it gives us something we want in return. To do this, it needs a connection to the content being provided. (A little irony, CBC is a public broadcaster - his show probably has more ads in it as part of the content than the rest of the entire schedule)
As an example - a billboard breaks this contract. It is providing only an obstruction to the view of a city, and advertising. It doesnt pay for the roads, or offer the consumer anything useful.
On the internet, banners feel the same way, even when they are in fact supporting the site, because the site doesn't incorporate advertising into it's design. The site doesn't announce that it is 'brought to you by <sponsor>' or work the ads into it's layout other than providing banner boxes that contrast with the theme most of the time. Customizing banners for their intended location, instead of automating the whole thing would go a long long way. Giant Bomb can't make them do this, only the one trying to sell the product can.
I love how the bombcast incorporated advertising into their format, and hopefully the internet will quit being lazy and put some work into producing good advertising, instead of cheap advertising. Make us accept it as the 'fee' for consuming the content, instead of an annoyance we must tolerate.
Log in to comment