Discussion of "online display advertising: Targeting and obtrusiveness" by Avi Goldfarb and Catherine Tucker

In "Online Display Advertising: Targeting and Obtrusiveness," Avi Goldfarb and Catherine Tucker present an empirical investigation and discussion of consumers' reactions to obtrusive and targeted Internet advertisements. They find, among other things, that obtrusive advertisements when combined with targeting tend to generate no greater effectiveness in consumer response than either method used alone. Perhaps one of the most interesting findings in their results involves the authors' focus on privacy salience and its connection to advertisement presentation. This brief discussion of their work (1) highlights the importance of further research in line with the well-crafted privacy preference inquiries of Goldfarb and Tucker's study and (2) complements the authors' discussion regarding possible public policy implications with a legal discussion elaborating on existing legal grounds for liability and restrictions on advertising consumers perceive as privacy invasive.