[jqpabc123]

One can also imagine that the ad networks really don't care as long as advertisers continue to buy into the ad auction ruse.

The ad networks are an opaque "black box". You only get to see what they allow you to see. It is essentially built around faith.

It's difficult for advertisers to compare to alternatives because they have effectively monopolized the market.

For consumers, the most sensible response is increasingly ad blocking. As this trend increases, advertisers will (hopefully) be forced to start abandoning the concept as ineffective.

In the long term, the big winner in all this is likely to Amazon --- where advertising is mostly context based.

[estomagordo]

Not faith, data.

Customers obviously can see performance.

How is it that you imagine that you know this better than these people do?

[jqpabc123]

How is that you imagine that "these people" don't have full control over any data and the entire process?

[estomagordo]

I genuinely would like to know how it even happens that you think you know better.

Then, data transparency is a thing and advertisers can obviously also measure their performance.

[jqpabc123]

The point is, I don't know better --- and neither do you.

For example, you and I have no idea if the ad networks are bidding against their own advertisers in order to drive revenue. They hold all the cards.

Ad fraud is a growing business and ad networks are not the ones getting hurt directly by it.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/677466/digital-ad-fraud-...