Users of Ad Blockers Identify Video Ads as Most Frustrating, Study Finds

A recent survey from Visual Objects, a portfolio website that showcases work from creative firms, sheds light on ad blocker usage.

The company surveyed 500 people in the U.S. who use ad blockers, and found that nearly half (47 percent) do so to limit interruptions online. Increased control over the browsing experience (22 percent) and eliminating useless or irrelevant ads (18 percent) rounded out the top three reasons for using ad blockers. Additionally, the survey found that 65 percent of people who use ad blockers have done so for a year or more, suggesting that their popularity has grown. However, 64 percent use ad blockers exclusively on desktops or laptops, indicating that their use has not yet expanded to mobile devices. Nevertheless, this could be because ad blockers are easier to install on desktops and laptops.

The survey also found that people consider video ads to be the most frustrating when browsing online, with more than half (51 percent) saying so. More specifically, the top three most frustrating ads were found to be video ads that interrupt streaming (30 percent), pop-up ads (25 percent), and video ads before content loads (21 percent). With this in mind, marketing organizations may want to reconsider the types of ads they deliver, emphasizing less intrusive formats.