It makes some perverse sense. The New York Times (NYT) business section is running ads for “Signs of bipolar disorder” placed there through its text marketing relationship with Google (GOOG). The Times would be better off blocking the ads than taking the modest sum of money it is getting. Running the message is a sign that no appropriate marketer was willing to spend money on its Web site.
Cheap ads for credit reports, teeth whitening, and weight loss are appearing more often across websites from NYTimes.com, to Yahoo.com, to CNN.com. The companies buying those ads pay very little. But, the large online sites have lost many of their key advertisers include car companies and several large banks.
The signs that online advertising revenue is continuing to fall and is not likely to recover soon are almost everywhere on the internet.
Douglas A. McIntyre