Nearly 1 in 3 Consumers Surveyed Like Targeted Ads

With the Federal Trade Commission recommending stronger regulations for online advertising, the future of behavioral Web marketing practices is somewhat uncertain right now. The FTC argues that consumers overwhelmingly consider these targeted ads intrusive, but a recent survey from Burst Media suggests that the issue is not so one-sided.

The study found that 27 percent of respondents said they like to receive ads that are targeted to their interests, and when separated by gender, 33 percent of the men would freely offer personal information to receive more relevant ads online.

That number was about equal to the 34 percent of men and women who said they dislike targeted ads, and slightly less than the 38 percent who reported that they were usually uninterested in the products offered through targeted advertising. A little more than half of the respondents, 54 percent, said that they find targeted ads to be "annoying and distracting."

Broken down into age groups, 35 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds said they don't mind targeted ads, and 25 percent of 35- to 54-year-olds said they like them.