• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, January 18, 2016

Adblock Plus had signed up and paid to attend the Interactive Advertising Bureau's Annual Leadership Meeting later this month. All appeared to be well with fee paid, conformation received and listing on the IAB Web site until January 6 when Adblock Plus Minister of Affairs Mark Addison received an email from the IAB which read, "We are returning your registration fee and cancelling your registration for the IAB Annual Leadership Meeting." 

A surprised Addison replied, "Uh...there must be some confusion. I didn't ask for a re[fu]nd?!?" Confirming its decision to disinvite AdBlock Plus, Addision received another email which read, "I'm sorry if there is any confusion. Just to be clear, there will be no ticket available for you and we've refunded your registration fee." 

Of the dis-invitation, IAB spokesperson Laura Goldberg said: "The IAB Annual Leadership Meeting is for serious conversation among important digital industry stakeholders." 

Right. So in the eyes of the IAB, ad blocking isn't a serious concern and isn't worth conversing about. That's like the proverbial ostrich sticking its head in the sand to avoid getting kicked in the ass by danger. Dear IAB, ignoring ad blocking isn't going to make it go away. Wake up!  

In response to the dis-invitation, Adblock Plus Operations and Communications Manager Ben Williams reached out to the IAB's Randall Rothenberg but has received no reply. He took to the company's blog and penned a post about the IAB's cold shoulder, writing: 

"Sadly, if the leader of the largest advertiser trade organization does not have the cojones to allow dissenting voices to be heard, then he does so at his own peril. Ad industry pundits have blamed themselves for the meteoric rise of ad blocking, and some of IAB’s own lieutenants have called for Rothenberg’s resignation. We’re beginning to see why. 

In a notable (and noble) confession, one IAB executive even went on record saying “we messed up” by allowing online advertising to become overly aggressive, and thus helping to fuel ad blocker installs. 

The over 400,000,000 downloads of Adblock Plus are not going to 'go away.' Dis-allowing Adblock Plus from attending your event solves nothing. We will proceed to work with others to build a sustainable monetization model for the Internet." 

Williams is right. Like it or not, ad blocking is here to stay. And there's really nothing the IAB, or anyone, can do about it. However, having an open and honest conversation will all parties about how to, as Williams says, "work with others to build a sustainable monetization model for the internet," is really the only road to take. 

And by dis-inviting Adblock Plus from its event, all the IAB has achieved is to postpone the inevitable.