Dim bulbs

They warned us back in March that advertisements on newspaper sites would get more annoying to get our attention. Yesterday, the New York Times and BMW had a doozy, with an ad that turned down the lights on the computer screen. When readers investigated the cause of the disruption, they discovered, unfortunately, a BMW ad.

The two companies seem thrilled with the results. Some readers offered a different assessment. From MediaPost Publications:

"BMW was looking for a new, never-been-done-before idea to launch their new Advanced Diesel Online Technology online," explained Times spokesperson Stacy Green. "What we developed was a unique and never-before-done execution on our site." ...

But if Twitter is any barometer of public reaction to the effort, annoyance and anger trumped awe and appreciation. "Big thumbs down to @nytimes for running a BMW ad which darkens the screen, with no apparent/easy way to disable the ad," complained lx69 in one tweet. "That BMW ad on the NYTimes.com home page? Super-annoying," wrote lseward, in another.

Expect more and worse to come.

(via Nieman Lab)