X10, the company that launched a gazillion pop-under ads, has filed for bankruptcy. The filing comes right after the company lost a suit to a couple of brothers who weren't paid for the X10 pop-unders they served up.
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X10, the company that launched a gazillion pop-under ads, has filed for bankruptcy. The filing comes right after the company lost a suit to a couple of brothers who weren't paid for the X10 pop-unders they served up.
But there's a pop-under on the page for that article!
Pop-unders aren't going anywhere. If anything, I reckon they'll replace pop-ups. People are so hacked off with pop-ups that they don't even look at them any more it seems to me. I close pop-ups before they've even had chance to load their content.
Pop-unders are much less of an intrusion. Much better.
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I am sure that popups were very profitable for X10. The reason for bankruptcy might have more to do with the fact that they lost the case. Popups work, if they didn't they would not be everywhere and people willing to pay five times what they pay to have banners on your site.
Remember the Iraqi playing cards?
We sold 350,000 decks in 21 days using only pop-windows. [img]images/smilies/smile.gif[/img]
Nope, never saw them.Originally Posted by AllClicks Robert
Remeber the Iraqi paying cards?
We sold 350,000 decks in 21 days using only pop-windows.
Not bad, but again, pops' future is severely limited from hereon.
About 350,000 other nice folks with valid credit cards did.
Folks have been saying that since 1999. Pops will always be around because pops generate an accepatable ROI for both publishers and advertisers.
"Nature finds a way...."
"Nature finds a way...."
My point though... pop-ups becming unpopular. Joe Public is fed up with them. Pop-unders are the new pop-ups. Much less irritating, but just as effective, if not more effective.
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With all the popkiller programs out there, pops will die out in time.
Figure anyone who uses the Google toolbar has an effective tool to block both popups and pop unders. Also, just about every browser has a built in pop blocker. Also, if the ad networks actually became responsible about how they serve pops, people might not hate them so much.
greg,
Pop windows have always been unpopular. That doesn't mean they won't stay around. Advertisers AND publishers want them....the prices advertisers are willing to pay for pops has been rising for the last few months. What was the last form of internet ad that had a meaningful, long term price increase?
TV commercials are unpopular and when the VCR was introduced close to 30 years ago everyone predicted the death of the commercial. Well...we're still waiting for that one.
There is a way around every pop blocker. And most ad supported software is immune to blockers already.
If the supply of pops gets restricted, the price will rise and new sources of pop traffic will be developed. That's the way the free market works. [img]images/smilies/thumbs_up.gif[/img]
Lot's of folks have been predicting the death of the pop for 4 years now since they became mainstream. ( here's a typical thread from 2 1/2 years ago http://www.sitepointforums.com/showt...&highlight=pop )
Many of the same folks will be here 2 1/2 years form today saying the same thing. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.... [img]images/smilies/wink.gif[/img]
(edit: I just found a thread on GV from October 1999 where the death of the pop window is predicted to be just around the corner)
Last edited by AllClicks Robert; Oct 24, 2003 at 09:00.
They went chapter 11 because of the law suit, that's fairly obvious to me.
x10 got lots of free advertising with their affiliate program, being a CPA program they cut ad costs dramatically.
Pops work, but when someone sues you for Millions, you have a few choices, on is chapter 11.
I wouldn't be surprised if X10 purchased millions & millions of dollars in pop-up ads on credit on many different websites. Many major sites collect the $$ only after serving the ads. X10's whole plan may have been to buy all this advertising, profit from it, then go into bankruptcy to avoid paying their bills. It just took one lawsuit for them to realize that the rest of the bill collectors are on the way. Just a guess.
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John2k, Your hypothesis is inaccurate.
I know many companies that worked with X10 (including my own) and they always paid their bills in full and on time. Their ads were not only bought on the CPA model.
higgy, you are correct in your assesment. This filing has nothing to do with pop ads....it is a legal move in response to the judgement against them.
When Chrysler went bankrupt no one said that the automobile was dead.
I still get a check every month for pop unders, they are just not 50% of my income anymore.
Seriously, where do you guys come up with this stuff? We like to run pops for respectable advertisers like ING, AutoByTel, etc. and they do not perform that well. I guess we just need to release "Afghanistan Playing Cards," herbal viagra, or reproductive organ enhancement cream to make money on the Internet :-)
Incidentally, EUniverse, a public company, has had similar experiences. They now sell a whole line of private labelled products (read: "crap") because they saw better results with these low-brow offerings than they did with traditional advertisers.
Does this reflect on the (lack of) intelligence of the Internet community as a whole or it is merely the product of a maketing principle of which I am unaware?
Hmm this discussion is very interesting, can you please post the link to where you read about the private label products
I think an important thing to remember is what kind of market the popunder is targeting. X10 was going after a very general audience so their ads were all over the place. If you can provide an ad targeting the sites visitors you will have a better response.
I used to do ok with popunders on a humor site. I am betting they are still doing ok, I just don't own the site anymore.
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People are attracted to fads like iraqi playing cards or viagra. I never have advertised for either one(unless it was via FC) but I bet they convert well.
I think this only proves that companies need to manage their assets better so they can pay their bills and avoid lawsuits and bankruptcy.
However, all bankruptcy does is nullify the court judgement. Well not quite but they will probably get away with only paying 10 cents on the dollar, which is probably a lot more than the complainents are entitled to anyway.
Companies enter and exit bankruptcy everyday. Many times it is just for reorganization of debt and to allow the company to rebuild equity. Heck, KMart has been in bankruptcy 5 times in the last 20 years.
Financial assets and management is sticky thing and bankrucy is an easy way out.
I don't think anyone actually read my post properly. I said that pop-ups were on the way out. Not pop windows in general. I was saying that I expect to see many more pop-unders.
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Wow! I got an email from X10 on Friday asking for advertising rates on my site (not spam--custom sent email through a form). Today I got a response from them asking for an elaboration, but I don't think I'll do any business with them until this is settled!
Owen
Wow! Do you mean these Iraq Playing Cards ?
[img]images/smilies/FRlol.gif[/img]
Those numbers are pretty impressive. What surprised me was how quickly sets of those cards were printed and up for sale. Pretty much as soon as the White House printed those silly things.
[QUOTE='LorenBaker']Wow! Do you mean these Iraq Playing Cards ?
QUOTE]
Of course not
http://baghdadrummy.com/order.html was the style. $5.95/ea, buy 5 decks get the 6th free.
The ads were purchased by the parent company of Bee-Bicycle playing cards.
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