Deceptive Ads - Examples - Tatto Media at PerfSpot
False and Deceptive Display Ads at Yahoo's Right Media - Ben Edelman

This page gives screenshots to accompany False and Deceptive Display Ads at Yahoo's Right Media. See also a video showing Tatto's deceptive ad placement and landing pages, and a video showing Tatto's improper efforts to discourage and confuse users attempting to leave Tatto's site.

Initial Appearance at Perfspot

First Landing Page

Note countdown timer, deceptively suggesting that a specific actual person is waiting. Note fee disclosure only at the periphery of the page, with low contrast against multicolored background.

Subsequent Tatto Page 2

Note omission of any on-screen mention of a fee.

Subsequent Tatto Page 3

Note omission of any on-screen mention of a fee. Page loaded incompletely.

Request for Cell Phone Number

Scrolling to See Disclosures

Note low contrast between disclosure text and multicolored background.

Attempting to Exit Tatto Media

I request Google and receive the "Crush alert" popup, falsely claiming that "one of [my] friends from Franklin has a crosh on [me]" and that I will be able to "find out who" by entering my cell phone number.

Attempting to Exit Tatto Media

Confusing text ("press 'cancel' below to continue" and "press ok to continue" on adjacent lines in the dialog box) makes it unclear how a user can exit. A user is left to choose at random -- yielding only a 50% chance of successfully exiting the Tatto site.