Why are younger generations so sick of ads?

Were older generations were more open to being advertised to because it wasn't so in-your-face? Sure, billboards, print ads, and radio ads all existed. And they were everywhere. But when you sat down and opened a book to unwind, there were no ads in there. Now you open your phone for some calming, mind-numbing scrolling and are bombarded with ad after ad after ad. Pop-ups and paid ads and discrete UGC all in ten seconds. 

I think that for many people my age, advertising feels inescapable and even suffocating. You click on a friend's Instagram story and are greeted with three stories from a clothing brand that matches your Google search history from five hours ago. You open TikTok and immediately scroll through four videos in a row of microinfluencers sharing their opinion on a new product launch, or showing new clothes they bought with a subtle #ad in the caption. It feels as though advertising has woven its way into our leisure time. Of course, radio ads, television ads, etc, have always been found within these leisurely spaces in a way; the digital space of social media is a whole different ball game. Social media (and lots of digital advertising in general) allows for advertising that is way more discrete, and the blurred lines of what content is an ad and what’s not impose way further on the coveted leisurely mind. 

This is without even touching on the issues lying within hyper-personalized ads. It is not surprising that many consumers hate online ads, when they give the feeling that companies have their brains tapped and are using their thoughts to manipulate consumers into spending more money. I won’t lie– the occasional ad for a cute mini dress from an unknown brand that looked similar to the one I was browsing the day before is occasionally appreciated, but on most days it just feels invasive, and makes all similar advertising feel dirty. Of course, it is of great benefit to companies to have access to all of this seemingly brain-tapped knowledge and be able to target consumers so specifically. But then, it should not be a surprise when these same companies wonder why they can’t seem to gain trust from young consumers. I think there is a trade-off that exists between personalization and ad bombardment, and trust building. And for young consumers who spend more time online and are therefore faced with many more ads, constantly, this tradeoff is delicate. 

Maybe when brands spoke less, people listened more, and therefore trusted more. Back in the day, Nike put out a new campaign every so often, and everyone’s eyes were on it. You could go to work and say, “Have you been seeing that new Nike commercial they’ve been running?” and your coworker would know exactly what you’re referring to. In today’s landscape, although brands like Nike are still releasing highly crafted campaigns, they’re also releasing paid Facebook ads, have creators posting #ad content on TikTok and Instagram, and are attempting to insert themselves into cultural conversations and online buzz at all times. And because every other brand is also showing up in all of these ways, the advertising landscape is loud. All of the brands are screaming at the top of their lungs. And users no longer want to listen. But how do we solve this? Tell all of the brands to be quiet? Limit how much each brand can advertise? The fight to scream louder than the rest is endless, and the walls of advertising continue to close in on young consumers.