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_NSAKEY writes:

Derek Thompson at The Atlantic has a story about a new study on the effectiveness of eBay ads which might spell trouble for the rest of the internet ad industry. From the article:

Nineteenth-century retailer John Wanamaker is responsible for perhaps the most repeated line in marketing: "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, the trouble is I don't know which half."

Today, marketers are grappling with the Wanamaker Paradox: The more we learn which half of advertising is working, the more we realize we're wasting way more than half.

Perhaps you're nodding your head about now. Most people you know don't click online ads. At least, not on purpose. But now research is getting closer to quantifying exactly how few people click on Internet ads and exactly how ineffective they are. It's not a pretty picture.

The paper in question can be found here. (Paywalled)