When banners are blocked, only blocked brands will use banners.

I work in advertising. I know that spray-and-pray banner campaigns are just plain lazy. And the people selling them know it too, so they keep coming up with buzzwords and acronyms to make what they’re selling sound smarter, but it’s time to be honest. Banner ads are a holdover, and the landscape has changed.

Those yearning to do more than just buying up a bunch of banner ads have a new dog in the fight. Adobe recently released a report, in conjunction with PageFair, showing that nearly 200MM worldwide users are actively blocking ads.

That’s not all. Apple recently announced an iOS feature that could bring ad blocking to mobile devices–certainly lifting already lofty numbers. The technology is referred to as “content blocking,” which essentially allows Apple to provide ad blocking functionality without making a value judgement. Sure, some knee-jerk journos cranked out articles misinterpreting the feature as Apple’s own version of AdBlock, but that’s not exactly the case. What it really does is enable third parties to build mobile extensions that block content, and there is no doubt that those in the ad blocking space are working toward exactly that.

A spirited voice piped up in the form of a post from Marco Arment, titled “The Ethics of Modern Web Ad Blocking,” where he says, “Fortunately, better monetization methods [than banner ads] exist. … For publishers who want to remain ad-supported, ethically and tastefully presented native advertising … has proven to be more effective, more profitable, and less user-hostile …”

So true. It’s no secret that the next generation of consumers, just now coming into their buying power, are increasingly immune to played-out advertising tactics They want more. They want things that are useful, valuable even.

So what now? Well, you can curl up with a pint of ice cream and a box of tissues, or you can build tools and content that augment consumers’ brand experience. Understand what those target consumers are trying to do, and help them do it. Create value and functionality. It’s hard to imagine a better way to earn a spot in the hearts and minds of consumers.

Or you could just hold out for a fire sale on banner ads.