ITEMS OF INTEREST 

Ad Tactics That Bug Americans The Most                                                                                                                                              
Everybody has an ad come-on they love to hate. The top five, according to a recent nationally representative survey by Consumer Reports National Research Center, are robocalls; false claims that you've won a prize or sweepstakes (are you listening Bruce Dern?); bills that look real but aren't; pop-up online adds; and hyperbolic ads for medical remedies. Least annoying of all the gripes we asked about: ads on billboards. Women tend to get more annoyed than men, our survey of 1,000 Americans found, especially with fast-talking disclaimers; ads that target people based on past purchases, demographics, or behavior; and asterisks tied to tiny disclaimers in print or online ads.  

Adgravation also increases gradually with age. By the time Americans have passed 60, they're much more annoyed than those 18 to 29. Have they just grown tired of waiting for advertisers to tell it straight?
Source: "Ad Tactics That Bug Americans The Most" Consumer  Reports (June 2014), p.11.