Pretty much the same here - and if I hit the back button, it kicks me off the site altogether.

why should i be forced to to enable cookies in order to skip these LAME ads? i don't use cookies, and don't tell me your opinion on them or how i should run my computer either. this is so stupid.

you can skip it by clicking the link. but the cookies enable the site to know you've already seen it and won't show it to you again. If you don't want to use cookies, you'll probably see it a bunch. its up to you

I stopped using yahoo at all because of these flash ads. Dvdtalk is one of the few sites I visit every day even when I don't post, so right now I am very torn. Since the first time it happened I have been visiting here less and less. I don't want to leave but if my only alternative is living through these ads I will have to find a new forum to visit. Please make it stop.

Well I got my first one of these today, as much as I hate them, if it pays the bills I think I can deal.

I finally saw it by going into the video game forum. Big deal, its very easy to get rid of. It takes not 1 second to click the defeat link. If it means more revenue for Geoff Im all for it.

exactly. people are bitching b/c Geoff is trying to make $$$ from something they get for free.

Please. I am "bitching" because the ad freezes one of my computers constantly....

FWIW...

I started getting this ad too, and HATED it. But knowing that it wasn't going to be an ongoing thing made it bearable.

But...

A co-worker who reads DVDTalk frequently for its news and reviews mentioned that he'd seen it, and that it was enough to make him never, ever visit the site again.

This is the sort of person who won't get heard from here, because he doesn't post in the forum... but he visits the site, serves as an audience for the (non-obnoxious) ads, clicks on affiliate links... This is the sort of person who, in aggregate, does a lot to support DVDTalk, but how is he supposed to know that this awful ad isn't just the first evidence that the site has gone to the dogs (as so many other sites have, becoming unusable).

All I'm saying is, ads like this drive people away. And they won't make a big production of it: they just won't come back, won't click any more affilate links, won't post in the forum declaiming why they left. The people who post here (including me) saying they understand the reasons, it's worth it to support DVDTalk, it's not a big deal, etc. are not a representative sample.

Funny, I never get it when I use Safari on my mac... but this is the first time I've ever seen it on my PC.

I thought I was over at IGN or something...

Thanks again everyone for your feedback. This was the first time we've run this kind of ad, so your thoughts and feelings on it are very much appreciated.

This current campaign is set to stop at the end of the week and at this time we have no planned future campaigns which call for intermercials.

The next time we talk with an advertiser who wants to use this kind of advertising, we'll advise them that our readers have expressed that they would actually NOT buy a product they were planning on buying as a result of these kind of ads.

Obviously something is wrong w/ your computer then. I think in this thread there were only a select few who complained because the ad caused problems with their computer. The rest complained b/c the ad was annoying and distracting.

Just curious how he supports the site? Does he click through Geoff's referral links?

I wholely agree with ordway.

I think all of us understand that it generates money for the site, but that doesn't mean that it is not a pain in the a**. It benefits everyone when we express how we feel about it. It helps Geoff to know that it drives some people away, It helps the advertiser to know that it will drive people from their product, and hopefully it will help us never see this kind of ad again.

I should've worded it better. He states that he "does alot to support DVD Talk". I am wondering what that means, exactly. We all click on affiliate links. What makes it so that he does "alot". That's what I'd like a definition of.

Why do only movies that suck get this kind of advertising? The Feat Dot Com ad comes to mind.

Notice that I said "the sort of person who *in aggregate* does a lot to support DVDTalk." I'm not claiming that this one person does tons and tons to support the site... but the effect of losing a bunch of people who all do a little bit is the same as losing one person who does a lot. Actually, the effect is probably greater, since the word-of-mouth effect of 10 people is far more than that of 1 person. Let's not make the mistake of blowing off the "casual user" and dismissing his contribution to the site. People like him outnumber diehards like you or me.

I'm glad to hear that we will hopefully not be seeing any more of those evil type of ad. Certainly I personally will make a point of NOT buying anything that's advertised in that way. This will be useful feedback for the advertiser... after all, they want people to be interested in their ads, not disgusted by them.

I realize it's a small step but I'm glad to hear that you will pass that message on.

Yeah this ad really does more harm than good to the sales of this dvd I think.

That being said I get it all the time and really don't mind TOO much. I mean look at all the countless hours of enjoyment most of us have gotten from these forums for free. Of course it has always let me skip it and has never frozen my browser so YMMV.

Never mind it just froze up my browser. This ad sucks.

This ad seems to have slowed down the entire Video Game forum as I can access any other forum in a milisecond, but it takes a minute to load anything on the Video Game forum. It shouldn't feel like I'm on 56K!

I don't blame Geoff at all for this ad, and it won't stop me from visiting this forum, but I refuse to buy any product when that product is advertised in such an invasive and obnoxious manner. I hope the advertisers get that message. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. It won't affect my participation here at DVD Talk, but it will affect my purchases.

Too bad, I was interested in seeing Final Destination 2 - I liked the first one. I can live without it, though.

I've got the ad more than usual today, definitely more than once an hour.

I don't blame Geoff either, just the company that made the ad.

I'd boycott the movie, but I had no intention of buying this DVD anyway.

Can't happen soon enough...... thanks for the follow-up, Geoff.