Originally published on April 24, 2022
Everyday, advertisers use your personal data to put specialized products in front of you that you will be more likely to purchase, thus making their job cheaper and easier. Some countries have put laws in place to protect individuals but companies will still find ways around them. They call it “behavioral targeting” as they will still learn everything about you without tying a name to your IP address. However, “nameless data can be viewed as personal data when a company uses these data to single out a person, a view taken by European Data Protection Authorities” (Zuiderveen Borgesius, 2016). Behavioral targeting is following an internet user’s behavior to get a better idea of what they’d be most likely to purchase and when to put the ad in front of them. The data is mainly gathered by using small text files called cookies which allow companies to recognize users and possibly later on, show you an ad for a pair of shoes that you put in your cart while you’re on a completely different site.
The history of targeted ads starts with the general history of advertisements in general. Ads were initially used to get the word out about a business or product. As time went on from strictly print ads that were vastly broad to the Sears catalog that was a little more invasive and arriving at the homes of housewives, advertising agencies began brainstorming ways to have their product stand out to consumers. As television became a household necessity, jingles and pretty people became the way of the world. With this, advertisers were able to get themselves stuck in your head and you would be predisposed to purchase the brand while at the supermarket. For me personally, the jingle of my childhood is from a Yoplait Light ad involving a cover of the 1960’s song, Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini by Brian Hyland.
While there are other commercial jingles that I have been known to rattle off, this is what always comes to mind for the subject. Now anytime I hear the song, I think of yogurt. This also has embedded in me at a young age a willingness to buy Yoplait over other brands.
Rebecca Brown 