how a single banner ad represents why nobody clicks on banner ads anymore

Here I was minding my own business. I was listening to MATES #13. And as I am wont to do, I was googling things that they talk about while I listen. And MIB made a throwaway comment about melting m&m's on top of popcorn, so I googled it. I landed on this page.

And what did I see on the right side of the page? An enticing cinnamon roll.


The background here is that I am a cinnamon roll lover. I was drawn in by the picture. And then I saw the headline. "Low-Fat Clone of a Cinnabon."

Now let me be clear. At this stage of the game, I was already so disillusioned with banner ads that I DID NOT believe the headline was true. [Editor's note: the "I" in that sentence does not have added emphasis. It is merely capitalized per standard language rules.] It certainly doesn't look low fat. But I was curious about what this recipe might actually contain.

So I clicked it. When it says "click here to download this recipe" I assumed that it would take me to a page where I could view the recipe. Or that it would download a pdf of the recipe.

I was so naive.

When you click that ad, it takes you here:


Now, I'm no advertising expert. But it would seem that if I'm interested in what you are advertising, you should follow through on what you tease me with.

The end result: my beliefs are reinforced that no banner ad will ever provide me with what they promise.