Is being ad-free a luxury or a consumer right?

Kaan Ugrasiz Brand experience, Marketing strategies

Many people are noticing that the boundaries surrounding advertising are becoming blurred. Ads, which are popularly displayed in mobile apps and especially used in reward mechanisms within mobile games, are now also finding their way onto smart device screens at home.

The most striking example of this was seen in the ads on Xiaomi’s MIUI interface for mobile phones and tablets. This sparked many questions in consumers’ minds. From a marketing perspective, the first question that came to mind was the ethics of embedding and displaying ads within the software required to use a product after paying for it.

As if that weren’t enough, disabling these ads which appeared in applications integrated with the interface software such as Files, Browser, Security, and Video, required multiple steps. This required finding and disabling system apps.

Another marketing initiative that has surprised users and consumers alike has come from South Korean technology manufacturer Samsung. A software update for its smart refrigerators, called the Family Hub, has caused ads to appear on the refrigerator door screens. This initiative was tested as part of a pilot program in the US, where ads were displayed on the door screens of some refrigerators when they were idle.

Users can turn off ads on their refrigerators but since the ads will reappear as long as the refrigerator remains online, the only way to avoid them is to disconnect the refrigerator from the internet. Disconnecting from the internet means a product labeled smart loses a key function, leaving nothing distinguishing it from its peers.

Another notable example is LG, another South Korean technology manufacturer, which began displaying ads from LG’s own sources or others in the standby screensavers of its OLED TVs. These ads, which began appearing on premium products in 2024, can be disabled by disabling the “Screen Saver Promotion” feature in the settings.

While not as common for devices, there’s a model called freemium for software and services. In this model, a product is offered for free but contains ads, indirectly generating revenue.

The best example in the service world is Spotify and YouTube. Next time, pay close attention to the audio intros or ad videos that pop up while you’re listening to music. By paying a certain fee, you gain certain features and can also prevent these ads from appearing.

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Main photo by Milad Fakurian on Unsplash

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