Worst Ads Ever! (SkepticOverlord's Ad Hitlist)

reply to post by Wookiep


I GOT IT!

This ad has been driving me nuts, it even hides its URL but mwah! I stole a screen shot.

(I tried to copy and paste the URL, but even their site won't let me. What a terrible ad!)

I will update this post shortly (have to upload the screeny)

EDIT--
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/9d4434afb91a.jpg[/atsimg]

reply to post by adigregorio


Excellent work, you have caught the elusive culprit. I would star you if I could. Now, let's bag this jackass!

reply to post by Wookiep


Here is the URL for the "silent version" of this ad.

content.yieldmanager.edgesuite.net/atoms/a5/a7/0c/5c/a5a70c5c88482168ee6d4f2f0e6689f0.gif

Same gif, just no sound. (Also, it lets me get the URL HA!)

How's about that darn Radio Shack ad at the top of the page. It breaks the top nav and pushes it to the left.

Next time I catch it misbehaving I'll take a screen shot and post it back here.

Ha! Got it!
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/daaaf7cba9f0.jpg[/atsimg]

For trouble shooting, I'm on a mac OS 10.6.5, browsing with Firefox.

reply to post by OneisOne


I've got one worse that that....two, actually. BOTH are aural, and annoying as hell. AND, have inflicted themselves on me THREE times in just the last 20 minutes. The "Congratulations!! You've Won!!" that yells out....not after hovering the mouse over it, or anything....just from refreshing the page, jumping back to "myATS" for example.

TWICE, same ad in the space of about five minutes, that junk computer game thing. looks like...some cheesy dragon, some Anime'-looking girl....seems it says "Fiesta" at the end....that one just starts blasting crappy music.

That same appalling ad gave me fits a week ago....had multiple windows open, minimized....I had NO IDEA the culprit was the ATS page!!! I thought it was one of those YouTube videos that run in sequence, as some do....

Now, I know depending on where you are in the world, it seems that the advertising is targeted regionally, so some of you reading this may not have encountered these specific examples. I, for one, am growing increasingly disgusted by them....they do NOT belong on this site. FaceBook, maybe (though I don't frequent there, guessing that FB is crappy enough to be a repository for such ads)...but surely ATS should have more class???

reply to post by weedwhacker


Hey Weed,
Scroll back a few posts (and the end of the last page.) adigregorio and I were tackling that same one. It's a killer!

reply to post by Wookiep



Aaahhhhh...OK, IC.

Now, on to that videogame??? Ahhhhh....HERE IT IS!!!

fiesta.outspark.com...

Same crappy music, same crappy visuals.....

Reply to post by weedwhacker

I agree! Those with sound are annoying too. I've been on a Skype call when they've fired off. I have one client that likes to talk conspiracy stuff, I hate that the best conspiracy site has such crappy ads.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

I realize how important revenue is for ATS , and by extension all of us. That said, my vote is the ones that make unnecessary noise. That and the flashy neon signs - makes me feel like I'm in Vegas - yuck.
My suggestion to all advertisers: If you want to sell me something, sell me something. Gimmicks are so 20th-Century. I don't click on ads that annoy me -- just on principle.

Originally posted by Majic
Whoever came up with this ad should be slathered with pig's blood and tied to a stake in a New Jersey swamp.

What would this resolve?!

PLEASE, in ALL that (MAY OR MAY NOT BE) HOLY!!!!!


GET RID of that ad that is the "online gaming" by Fiesta!!!!!!

As I type this, RIGHT NOW!! The music is playing, again and again and again, over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over, ad infinitum!!!

I have about eight pages open in my browser.....AS I TYPE THIS HERE....and the offending ADVERT is STILL playing!!!! (IN the background, from ONE of those pages!!!)

(I can't take it, I can't take it......IT IS STILL REPEATING!!!!!!!!!!!)

I cannot emphasize enough my distaste....and concern for the lack of adult supervision that seems to be involved in these ADVERTS on ATS!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BTW...the "other" pages??

NOT all ATS......!!!!!

I don't see any annoying or bad ads.....However i see md perricone and philosophy ads...I was gonna post a thread asking if other people are seeing these same ads as me?.....Why i am curious is i have recently been to these websites......I even Goggeled tova for her perfume and then tonight i saw i flippen ad for IT!!All here...Its like they are STOCKING ME..Can that be???Very odd....I don't know a lot about computers and the web,but something is strange.Any one see these ads????

Dead Space 2...roll over to feel the fear...

Darn annoying add. With multiple tabs open in firefox you're bound to "roll over" it. If you're one of the lucky ones using dial-up(ha ha) and trying to download something(ha ha) you're going to feel the fear. What a pain. I've had to close tabs about 6 times tonight.

reply to post by mrwiffler


Yeah it's pretty painful and covers much of the screen.
(do I need 2nd line in this forum?)

“A 9mm is a futile defense” - Captain Chris and his “Close Combat Training” system

To anyone with half a brain this claim would strike you as being absolutely ludicrous and false, and you would probably want to avoid Captain Chris altogether and certainly not pay for his product. This is not the main issue here, however.

The truth is that Self Defence is a business that targets the vulnerable and gullible, and otherwise people who are the most in need of effective training in the first place. People like Captain Chris - if he was ever a Captain at all - use devious methods including but not exclusively, bold, impressive and purely ridiculous claims (as above) to attract attention and customers.

I would hope that ATS mods and owners have experience with Captain Chris and his system, have bought his products and have met him personally, and have used his advice and training “operationally” in numerous, live, high-stakes encounters.

I hope, but I expect that this is not the case. If it is, I invite you to give a comprehensive response attesting to his authenticity and the effectiveness of his system. If not, I would ask why and with what justification Above Top Secret is endorsing “Captain” Chris and his extremely dubious – and potentially dangerous – product.

After a few minutes of casual research, it appears that his system is essentially useless, dangerous (for the user), a waste of money and at the very least certainly not the super secret ninja special forces combatives system that it is presented as.

I offer sections of a pretty scathing review as an example, of which there are many online that are easily available using a Google search:

In his sales blogs, he claims that after an embarrassing “Road Rage” incident, he traveled all over the world to study with legendary fighters in the Far East. Even went to Britain and learned from old WW II Commandos those techniques they used to “Kill the Nazis”. Then worked out an innovative system consisting of “Gross Motor” moves to more efficiently utilize the aforementioned Commando techniques while under extreme duress. This is the system he offered to sell me. That's not what was in the package.

There isn't a single windpipe crushing, neck snapping, crippling, maiming or blinding technique anywhere. The gross motor movements are the few techniques shown on his website. It's got “karate” chops (to the back of an opponent's shoulder, in one example). It's got “whip” kicks, and of course, wristlocks. I cannot believe that WW II Commandos killed the Nazis with wristlocks and whipkicks. Never mind “Karate” chops to the backs of their shoulders. Nor do I believe that any Nazi ever attacked anyone with a Norman Bates-style downward stabbing motion.

After Capt. Chris recovered, he claims to have had an epiphany regarding the lack of streetworthiness of his earlier, traditional martial arts training, deciding that it didn't prepare people for the real world. His new system he claimed, addressed that deficiency. Yet, in his DVDs, he spends an inordinate amount of time demonstrating the very wristlocks he'd learned as part of his traditional training, finishing with the information that once the viewer has an evildoer in a wristlock, he can do “anything I want with him”.

www.ripoffreport.com...

The last sentence in particular left me in hysterics. There are systems that I would recommend that ATS endorse, of which there are many reviews easily available as well as numerous and extremely detailed posts and videos made by their founders online as proof of their authenticity, experience and knowledge, but this was not the intention of my post and I will not mention them unless specifically asked to do so.

a rollover ad for a bulletstorm game demo just asked me to submit my date of birth

I don't know if this has been posted, but one ad from this site put a pop-up on my screen saying it was going to make some change to my computer. I tried to close the initial box by using control alt delete but I couldn't figure out which program it was. When I "x'ed" out of it, it put a page on my screen with a bar showing something being downloaded or scanned, or at least that's what it wants you to think. The window said I had all these trojans, key loggers, etc. on my machine and it was offering to clean up the computer for me. I closed the page and ran multiple anti-virus programs and there was nothing. This is the worst ad I have ever encountered in my life. Has anyone else experienced this ad?

PLEASE GET RID OF THE STREAMING AD'S - IT'S WORSE THAN SHOUTING!!! Seriously, I'm either going to have to download a different browser to cut out all the streaming ads, or find another repository of information to go to on the web!

I don't have enough bandwidth at home to waste on those kind of ads - and they are worse than pop ups. Also I can't risk using ATS at work anymore, as they monitor our bandwidth there - and I personally try and maintain a very small bandwidth footprint, so that I keep under the radar.

I'm in New Zealand. Not many other sites I frequent play obnoxious streaming ads.

Perhaps it is a CIA or SAS plot to kill ATS - as my immediate response is to close every tab and window until the offending one is gone! OK, joking about CIA and SAS - but advertisers take note - it is a definite switch-off point for this consumer. Alright, rant over.

I was just starting to come back to this site after leaving for months because of the stupid pop-up ads.

Now I am going again. Pop up ads are back and what's worse I can't use the volume any more because of ads with audio!

Seriously ATS, this site is the worst I have ever been to for advertising bar none.

Dooooo Do Doo Do Dooooo

Get rid of the Mortein ad!

It is heinous!