The new innovations created to avoid online ads are almost as impressive as those created to display them in newly, unexpected places.

A new ad blocking plugin, AdNauseam, is the newest contender in the online ad war. Not only does it block ads, it also automatically clicks on each of these and sends false positives to an advertiser’s database, diluting their ad metrics. If implemented broadly, this can massively affect qualitative measures like online user profiles, to quantitative, revenue-reliant measures like sales flow.

AdNauseam is more aggressive than simple ad avoidance, as one would get with Adblock Plus, another online extension. As is, advertisers don’t mind Adblock Plus as research shows that the people who use it most aren’t likely to click on their ads anyway, consequently assisting in the decrease of wasted impressions. With AdNauseam’s combative functionality, there lies a reflection of the population’s frustration and helplessness in today’s online world.

Given that ad blocker plugins haven’t caught beyond a niche demographic of Internet users, AdNauseam will probably never grow its user base enough to impact the bigger picture. It is significant to note however, that the application was created in the first place, signaling not only clear user distrust, but also a will to fight it.

Applications like AdNauseam are pushing brand marketers to spend more of their budgets on experiential marketing. With experiential marketing brands can garner the holy grail of message distribution. User experiences live on social media and word-of-mouth, making for a more meaningful, resonant, and earned brand presence. Experiences can get a brand’s message online without seeming invasive, and after all, who can adblock an experience?

Photo from www.fastcolabs.com