Good morning Marketer, when does ad blocking become problematic? 

‘Ad blocking’ is when ads are excluded from showing up next to inventory that could be deemed as out of context. For example, a travel company might choose to block ads from appearing next to news coverage about COVID-19. It’s a tactic designed to protect a brand’s online reputation – but right now, it’s showing the challenges of managing brand safety in complex and charged times in an ad-supported digital ecosystem. 

In the name of “brand safety,” some advertisers are blocking their ads from appearing on content about the Black Lives Matter movement and protests, Ad Age reported last week. Some marketers are even blocking keywords such as “black people” and “George Floyd,” according to the report. Vice told Ad Age it has seen CPMs on content related to the protests off by 57% compared to other news content.

“There is nothing negative about the term ‘black people’ but by putting it on a blocklist it is effectively saying that there is,” Paul Wallace of Vice said on Twitter.

Rob Rasko of The 614 Group, which hosted a virtual brand safety summit yesterday, says brands should be thinking about how their messaging might resonate with consumers. “With the Black Lives Matter protests, getting messages right is equally critical,” he explained. “Getting it wrong has immediate implications, as tensions run high and the world is watching. As a result, brands that took a minute might take an hour to decide what to say — but I do expect we will hear from them loudly in the second half of 2020.”

While ad blocking can certainly help provide cover for media buyers and agencies when ads show up on undesirable content, watershed events – like COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter – underscore the need for greater understanding and transparency around ad blocking mechanisms so we don’t see brands blocking terms like “black people” ever again.

There’s more to read below, including a look at how younger demographics have shifted consumer behavior in response to the global pandemic. 

Taylor Peterson,
Deputy Editor