When Do Ads Become Creepy?

BRANDS ARE PUSHING THE BOUNDARY ON USING PERSONAL INFO TO DRIVE CREATIVE.

- Lindsay Rittenhouse

In 2018, consumers have largely accepted that marketers use an online log of their behaviors and spending habits to target digital audiences with relevant ads. A Pew Research Center study found last year that most Americans determine their online privacy rights case by case, with 47 percent saying they’re comfortable with retailers tracking their purchases to deliver better deals.

Now major brands, including Cost Plus World Market, Netflix and Spotify, are testing the waters by using their troves of user data to drive not only the targeting but the creation of their ads. Many of these campaigns seem like experiments designed to determine just how much of their own data people are willing to tolerate.

“At what point do you creep someone out?” asked Ian Mackenzie, executive creative director at datafirst shop FCB/Six. He said all of FCB/ Six’s clients are curious about how they can employ their user data but are hesitant to actually do it.

“It’s uncharted territory,” added FCB/Six president Andrea Cook, who said companies are fearful that, if they cross a line, they could “get called on the carpet.” 

But where, exactly, is that line?