In 2025, digital advertising is looking more like a pyramid scheme than a sustainable marketing model. As John Kilhefner explains in his HackerNoon article, the obsession with pageviews and impressions has led to a bloated, user-hostile web—filled with pop-ups, autoplay videos, and trackers that drive readers away. Publishers chase clicks at the expense of quality, while brands spend millions on ads that users increasingly ignore or block. The result? A fragile ecosystem where trust erodes and ROI quietly collapses under the weight of empty metrics.
The way forward is to flip the model: ditch the dependency on rented eyeballs and start building owned audiences through high-quality content like blogs, newsletters, and podcasts. By focusing on long-term trust and meaningful engagement, brands and publishers can escape the trap of the impression economy and finally deliver real value—to their audience and themselves.