Advertising- it’s what drives the world of online commerce. Essential as it is, the rise in unwanted ads has proven to be an annoyance. So what will happen if we’re only shown the content we want?

This is exactly what Adblock Plus, one of the world’s largest ad-blocking businesses, hopes to show can be done. The company has now revealed it will be launching its own service to sell “acceptable” ads. In an unusual move, the online ad blocking service has announced that these will be available to purchase by publishers, who will be able to choose from a selection of approved ads which meet the company’s guidelines. Adblock Plus has stated that this will be an accessible platform for publishers, who won’t have to wait for their ads to be approved- instead, they will be able to choose pre-screened ads, helping to speed up the process. Ad revenue from this offers an attractive ratio, with publishers able to keep 80%, while the rest will be shared between Adblock Plus and its partners.

It seems unlikely that an anti-ad company would decide to sell ads itself, but the company has defended its decision, saying this is a way for viewers to only experience relevant and unobtrusive ads. Plus, it argues that publishing outlets will also be able to benefit from subsequent revenue. This, Adblock Plus says, will “encourage better ads”, making it a win-win situation for both parties. The company has also admitted in the past that its process of blocking all ads wasn’t as effective as it had hoped, because revenue was ultimately being lost. By helping publishers choose from a menu of approved ads on the company’s platform, Adblock Plus hopes this will boost revenue again. Last year for instance, ad-blocking software created a huge dent in publishers’ earnings- approximately $22 million was lost, due to around 198 million people using ad blockers around the world.

For a while, Adblock Plus knows it has been fighting a battle with advertisers and companies who rely on these ads to stay afloat. It’s not only media outlets who need to serve ads in order to monetize, but also social media sites too, who of course offer users a free service. Just last month, Facebook announced it would be blocking the use of ad blockers on its desktop site, meaning those using such extensions would be forced to see ads in their sidebar and News Feed once again. Unlike Adblock Plus and its selection of pre-approved ads, Facebook has instead pledged to only show well-targeted ads based on users’ data and preferences. Since then though, there’s been a series of attacks from Ad-blocking companies including Adblock Plus, who were able to circumvent Facebook’s code, and strip ads from the platform. Perhaps though, the company is beginning to realise that enough is enough, and rather than keep on fighting, the time is ripe to monetize instead.

Do you think publishers will be keen to use Adblock Plus’s new platform? Or do you think brands whose ads aren’t “whitelisted” will be reluctant? We’d love to hear your thoughts as always, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and share your comments on our Facebook page.