if they outright forced us to stop day one there’d be outrage, so they instead ease us in. first a popup, then a timed popup, slowly leading to their actual goal but without the risk of an initial outrage. i know this is an extreme comparison but we’re like lambs to a slaughter
The only Youtuber I know who shills his sponsors in really funny, creative ways is Jay Foreman - and specifically in the Map Men videos he does with his pal Mark Cooper Jones. He puts actual time and effort to make the fucking plugs amusing to watch (and I suspect he also sells his own talents as a comedian at the same time).
I watch his plugs. I’ll never buy anything from the motherfucking advertisers who pay him but I sure watch him.
CriticalRole’s Sam Riegel also does amazingly hilarious ad reads that have me bowled over laughing most of the time.
There’s definitely ways to make ads more bearable without forcing them on users.