Wharton: Darn Those Pop-Up Ads! They're Maddening, But Do They Work?

E-commerce experts from Wharton and elsewhere offer opinions on pop-ups and pop-unders, saying they are neither always bad nor always good. There is a fine line between acceptable interruption by advertising and interruption that annoys. In offline media, interruptions are scheduled and are therefore seen as less annoying. Online, however, interruptions are not scheduled and are more likely to be seen as very annoying.

The experts debate the pros and cons of pop ups as a viable ad unit but it may all be moot, as pop-up blocking mechanisms become more widespread.