GumGum’s Grimace: The Ads that Stole Christmas
Forget privacy issues. Re-targeted ads are in cahoots with the Grinch, stealing the joy of surprise from Christmas. Nobody can be blamed when opening up a gift and thinking, “Now where have I seen that before? Oh yes, ads for it were sprayed across all my social-media accounts and everywhere I went on the Web.”
Never you mind. You may not have purchased that tiny milk frother for yourself, but we suspect you’ll still be delighted if someone gifts you one.
Kerel Cooper, CMO of GumGum, a contextual ad company, knows all about these developments, and sat down with StreetFight to explain just how they happen. The company surveyed 1,500 consumers in Q4 across the U.S. and Canada, representing a range of demographics. The objective was to determine how people feel about ads during the holidays.
What is an example of how targeted advertising has spoiled surprising gift recipients?
We’ve all been there. You’re shopping for the perfect surprise gift, and later that day, an ad for it pops up on your shared family laptop or even on your social media feed. Suddenly, the surprise is ruined when your kid, partner, or other loved one is browsing on that device. That’s what a lot of people shared in our survey, and it’s especially frustrating during the holidays when surprises matter the most. In fact, 62% of survey respondents said they were concerned about the risk of holiday surprises being spoiled by targeted ads.
How does that work exactly? That re-targeting ruins it?
It’s pretty simple—and frustrating. Re-targeting works by tracking what you’ve been browsing, so if you look at a gift online, ads for it will follow you around. The problem is, if you’re on a shared device or your family uses the same accounts, those ads are not exactly a secret anymore. And chances are that if you’ve talked about gifts at all with that special someone, or if they’ve hinted at a specific gift, and then they see an ad for it on a device you’ve recently used, they can likely put two and two together.
Isn’t the conventional thinking that consumers don’t mind being served ads as long as they’re targeted and relevant?
In general, yes. People are fine with ads that feel useful, though consumers are rejecting ads that follow them around for weeks because they’re not meeting them in the right moment. And the holidays are different. According to our survey, 77% of people get frustrated if re-targeted ads spoil their gift surprises. One-third of consumers reported that targeted ads had ruined holiday surprises in the past. When surprises and gift-giving are part of the holiday magic, it’s not just about relevance, it’s about being thoughtful with how and when you show ads.
Do you suggest getting rid of re-targeting? What’s the alternative?
We believe advertisers have both an opportunity and a responsibility to do better. Contextual advertising is a great example. It matches ads to the content on the page rather than tracking individuals. This approach is not only more respectful of privacy but also helps preserve the magic of gift-giving during the holidays. Beyond the holiday season, contextual advertising excels at meeting people in the moment, serving ads that align with their current mindset rather than relying on past behaviors or browsing history. Contextual isn’t just about altruism and being privacy-minded, it’s also about a real opportunity to be more mindful of ad experiences for consumers and about leveling up performance for ad campaigns.
Outside of contextual, there’s also the opportunity for online stores and brands to implement a “holiday mode” for shopping that will prevent retargeted advertising. In our survey, 32% of consumers said they would “definitely” prefer shopping with a brand that offered a “holiday mode.”
Third-party cookies are here to stay, it seems. Should advertisers rely purely on contextual advertising for the holidays?
Cookies are here to stay, for now, because Chrome is shifting the responsibility to users to opt out of tracking. However, history has shown that when given the choice, most users opt-out, as seen with Apple’s iOS tracking restrictions. This trend, coupled with the decline of cookies in Safari and Firefox and ongoing data privacy legislation coming down across the globe highlights the need for a future-proof solution. One that doesn’t rely on stalking people across the web or exploiting a consumer’s personal data.
Contextual advertising offers a privacy-friendly alternative that aligns with both consumer expectations and evolving government regulations. It’s a win-win: consumers can have relevant and useful ad experiences, and advertisers can effectively reach their audience while respecting user privacy.
How did GumGum get the idea for conducting this survey? What was the impetus?
Adtech isn’t a niche industry. It’s woven into the fabric of our daily lives. We often spend more time with ads in a day than we do with our family members. But the ad-tech industry often views itself as operating on the margins. We don’t see it that way at GumGum. Instead, we take a broader view, always trying to understand how advertising impacts people’s lives, whether good or bad, day in and day out. This survey stems from our curiosity about advertising’s role in our lives and our commitment to developing smarter, more respectful advertising solutions.
