An ad blocker has taken out a punchy ad in the Financial Times to denounce the internet advertising industry
The ad, which features the famous image of Muhammad Ali knocking out Sonny Liston, reads "The @iab knew we could block. Now they know we can punch, too."
A URL in the ad leads to a page on Shine's website that lists three recent quotes from prominent ad industry executives.
"We need to be worried," said Google's ads boss Sridhar Ramaswamy last month.
"We messed up," said the IAB's SVP of technology and ad operations Scott Cunningham last month.
"Ad blocking represents consumer outrage," said Bob Liodice, the CEO of the Association of National Advertisers last month.
Shine goes on to argue that "ad tech brought about its own inevitable demise" - presumably meaning it led to the rise in consumer demand for ad blocking - through "intrusive" practices.
The copy on the website ends with somewhat of a threat: "Make no mistake about it, we know that ad tech hasn't thrown in the towel. They'll continue sending lobbyists and anti-ad blockers into the ring. But we'll be there waiting, gloves laced-up, ready to prove yet again if we need to: The debate is over."
Business Insider has contacted the IAB for comment and we'll update this article once we hear back.
Shine has employed a similar approach before.
Back in September, Shine bought a full-page ad in the Financial Times which called on the mobile carrier trade body the GSMA (Groupe Speciale Mobile Association) to ask its members to push through "zero-rating" ads. Shine believes mobile carriers should not be charging their customers for the data consumed by mobile ads.
The GSMA told Mobile World Live that it does not get involved in the negotiations of commercial agreements between its members and third parties, although it noted the impact multimedia ads can have on data allowances.
Shine works with mobile carriers to block ads at a network level. It announced its first customer, Jamaica-based operator Digicel, in September.