This is one of those American absurdities that thankfully hasn't made its way over to Europe yet, at least to my knowledge. I hope I have an electric car by the point they start introducing these here.
In Finland our equivalence to Wal-Mart also sells cheap gas and they have ads on their pumps advertising their own products but it's just on the display and there's no sound with it.
Would be nice if the gas was less expensive at the stores with ads. At least that's not the case in my area. 5 min down the road the same company has pumps without ads for the same price.
Oh yes they tried. The damn thing scared me when that ad started playing. I haven't been back at that station again. Some other stations do have ads playing but those are silent, so I guess they do learn customers don't like the loud ads.
I've been driving an EV for a few years, but I flew out of state and had to rent a car recently. I'd never experienced this before then. It was one of the most dystopian experiences ever, leaving me feeling dirty and used.
I don't think I could keep myself from vandalizing those things if I had to do that constantly.
Why do you think charging stations will be immune? Plus with all the ‘smart’ ‘connected’ cars it’s not impossible for them to push ads directly to your car.
EV charging doesn’t require you to stand around for 5 minutes holding a handle to fuel up. The charging times are longer, but once plugged in your need to stay anywhere near the vehicle is zero. And plugging in usually takes less than 5s.
So even if someone came up with a system whereby they expected you to watch an ad before the power would flow, you could always just plug in and walk away. How are they going to know you’re physically there?
As an EV driver I haven’t been to a gas station since I started driving it, but AFAIK this advertising hasn’t come to Canada — and hopefully it never does.
As you are able I'd highly recommend going electric. Then you don't even have to go to gas stations. If you're able to charge at home (which I'm aware many are not) it's even better because anytime you leave the house you can have a full tank.
I have an electric car and the result is a loss of 20% of my income in the form of time spent twiddling my thumbs while the thinks slowly accumulates charge.
"People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you.
You, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity.
Fuck that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.
You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs."
The ones here, you can't mute. Pisses me off so bad I will refuse to back to a gas station. I have even pulled up seen the ads on another pump and drove off. I'm not a fucking captive! Congrats on losing money greedy fucks!
Most gas stations are monitored with cameras (often times with facial recognition), so they will be able to see your face and license plate, then charge you with vandalism.
You shouldn't be buying from Shell anyway given their history of human rights violations around the world. And in the more recent decades, their fight against eco-friendliness.
Of course all oil companies are shit, but for now it's a necessary evil, and some are worse than others.
That's always the problem with the "vote with your dollars" refrain: there's a race to the bottom where soon enough all the options start doing the shitty behavior.
The only solution that actually works is consumer protection regulation.
I wish advertisers would realize that forcing me to watch their ad against my will makes me actively hostile against their brand and/or product. If I remember their brand name from an intrusive ad I will not only not buy their products, I will go out of my way to give my money to their competitors.
Advertising is among the most studied psychological phenomenoms in the world. It's not so much about getting you to buy their product but more about you remembering the brand. Ads work. That why they're everywhere.
Sure I can name several brands that I'm not buying from either because of their ads.. ..but I remember the brands.
Whenever someone brings this up, someone also brings up the fact that ads are proven to work in general not on everyone. So I guess it's my turn today.
I likely wouldn't buy a diamond ring but I most certainly not buy one from a certain diamond store that has fucking annoying ads. They know who they are and if you are in Lower Mainland of BC, you know who I'm talking about. They can blow and choke on a red hot cock shaped metal rod. I'm glad I moved so far north that I won't get any ads for them ever again.
I've also cone to realize that this is the real purpose of ads.
[email protected], you have the right idea, but the other key thing you should remember is to never talk about the corps to anyone, even if you're dragging their name through the mud. "No such thing as bad press," as they say.
It's good to denounce the practice, but it seems naming and shaming specific companies just doesn't work anymore at this stage.
Holding down 1-5-9 or 3-5-7 can drop a POS card reader into debug mode, but it's brand dependent. (I have had it also crash the host terminals in some cases as well.)
also want to say that this is illegal in most places. The store may or may not press charges, but they have the right to and they will win that case if they do. So only do it if you know you can get away with it or have permission or don't mind having the stain on your legal record and whatever fine they hit you with
Most of them the second button down on the right is mute, though I've been running into some recently that disabled the mute.
Anyway, I sharpie a "mute" next to the button on stations where it isn't labeled for other people. It's one bit of graffiti that I'm not at all conflicted about.
I've had the exact opposite experience. Only once has the second button down from the right not worked. But in that instance it was the bottom right button.
We need to start a movement to show people different ways to vandalize them without being caught, and print stickers to stick on them to show the reasoning behind the vandalosm
A few more people would probably use bikes, but I don't see how this solves the issue, no matter how good the cycling infrastructure we won't see cars and gas stations just disappear.
I suspect I don't see the goals as you intend them, but I don't see people dropping there kids off at school on bikes or biking to and from a restaurant to eat a steak dinner, not to mention city services and transportation. If your target is really emissions I'd suspect that electric cars and limiting private jets would make more progress.
There is some artist who uses this kind of “road sticker” that is damn near impossible to remove. All that artist does is put a little sticker down of a stylized humanoid form, but that sticker on a fuel pump would probably withstand weather and attempts to remove it.
Maybe public ones but the good thing about electric is you plug in and either walk away or sit in your car you don't need to be outside near the pump to charge.
I don't even have an EV and I have to see the ads on the chargers because they're in front of the store I'm walking into. So far, I've only noticed that at grocery stores, but it's annoying.
Maybe, but I don't think it's worth it. With a gas car, you stand idle at the pump for a few minutes making sure that nothing bursts into flames or gas doesn't overflow. Charging an EV isn't like that. They've got about 5 seconds of your time at the most.
Volta has level2 free chargers in some of the grocery stores in my area. Pretty big screens. I don't pay attention to them when I'm charging while shopping.
I'm so used to it at this point thag the thought of it not being there is weird. To give you the hellish picture, gas pumps in the US have like 10in screens on them. They are usually off, but as soon as you make a payment or start pumping gas, they kick on and start playing loud obnoxious advertisements. My brain is so used to this shit that it's just background noise now. I'm sure there's got to be some kind of psychological side effects of being barraged with ads all the time. I'm sure studies have found that it leads to more consumerism, and in that case, it's working.
Fuck it. I don't want such "advantages" anymore. I want a small house, a workshop, and a garden. I'll be lucky if I can get even that. The world can just go pass me by.
I would probably bring a really thick permanent marker with me and some chewing gum for the speakers. I'm lucky enough to live in an area that has pretty good cycling infrastructure so I don't have to deal with that shit. I'm sorry you do though.
For the pumps that the mute button doesn't work: carry a small screwdriver, 1/8", flat blade, insert into center of speaker then pull sideways to severe the coil wire.
It doesn't effect the operation of the pump and takes a three second poke and twist. With no legitimate use of the speaker it would be months before it is noticed. Think they would scrub through tens of thousands of interactions with the pump and find that one person who leaned in a bit? Doubtful, and if so, minor vandalism charge and a small fine for months of quiet peace. Worth it in my book.
That speaker is also used for communication with the cashier, for example a disabled person requesting assistance. Or in my personal experience, the pump not working right and them telling me to put the handle back and start over.
The majority of pumps in my area play ads. Some of the pumps can't be muted. For those, press the top left and right buttons, then next two down, then the next two and it throws it into maintenance mode. That shuts off the speaker.
Why do companies even buy ads in this space? There's so many spots in our society where ads are just being injected to play for nobody. At what point do they figure out that it's not worth the return on investment to put ads in those spots?
They don’t have to work, you just have to convince people they do.
Sell the gas station operator on increased revenue (whether they ever see increased revenue from it or not is irrelevant — I would assume they are unlikely to stop once they have ad pumps in). They might not opt for ad pumps next time, but that’s a problem for future you.
Sell businesses on thousands of people staring at these pumps every day.
All parties are now invested in this ecosystem, and it’ll be a while before they determine whether or not it’s worth the money — or even having an effect.
I haven't encountered it. Maybe we're lucky and some law prevents it? I find it hard to believe they wouldn't exploit us further if there wasn't something stopping them.
I want to brainstorm this. I know about the mute button, but it doesn't work on all pumps. So, how are the pumps getting the ads (getting updated ads)? Are they connected to the internet? Bluetooth? Flash Drive firmware updates?
When we figure this out, the next step is to hack that source.
A quick search for trying to get an ad onto a pump led to this site. Pumps are not all the same, some are uploaded via wired or wireless network. Some via USB. If you want to be a solution, try to be the problem and then work your way backwards.
I don't think I have ever been to a gas station with ads obnoxious enough to notice. If I start noticing them (ie extremely loud) I stop getting my gas there.
There was a whole Mythbusters episode where they tried TONS of stuff to get a gas station to go up in flames (they couldn't, not even smoking a cigarette -- under near ideal conditions for an ignition of nearby vapors -- per my recollection).
So yeah, I'm sitting in my car (especially if it's cold outside).
"Static electricity" isn't somehow more of a concern sitting in your car than standing outside one in a fuzzy jacket.
I just watch the filler from the side mirror. When I feel the click of the disengagement, I hop out, give a ground pat to the pump and replace the nozzle.
Thankfully only one near me does this and I've never gone back once I saw they had these installed. This is really the only way we're ever going to see these practices phased out. Corporations don't take anything seriously until it affects the bottom line. Just look at climate change.
I think getting this practice phased out would require a sustained social media campaign. Otherwise the MBAs just see mysterious fluctuations on their charts, and they'll make up some vaguely-political theories about Millenials.
Not only are they stupidly repetitive, they are loud. They do make me look for other stations. I've found I can mess with them sometimes using the home button, it can pause the marketing BS for a good minute.
I'm hoping this will never be the practice in Germany! We're using these gas pumps with LC Displays from the 80's so there can't be apps with ads on a screen. Also known as "German Digitization". (A buzz word for modern technology /sarc)
Please don't tell it to European oil concerns to update their gas pumps. Shhhhh 🤫I want to have it without ads 'til I'm to old to use a gas pump.
Every station I have gone to with them has had the mute button labeled or at least functional. If they didn't, I would never return.
The only time they are useful is when they offer a coupon for something I was already going to buy, but that happens so infrequently I'd rather have my attention back.
id take the ads over the 20 questions it asks you before you can even select the fuel grade. and the button barely works so i have to press it 20 times
You mean your government isn't shoveling money into the already wealthy oil companies' coffers? What are they even investing in, then, human rights? Silly.
Sinclair (green Dino brand) has terribly loud ads on their pumps. I was furious and couldn’t help but yell at the manager (not the young guy behind the counter). Manager said everyone is doing it and suck it up or fuck off. So I told him what a piece of shit he is and I refuse to use Sinclair anymore. No business from me. Also my next vehicle won’t be gas. Death to oil companies, they’re cancer on this planet
So you went and made the manager's shit day at his shitty underpaid job worse? He doesn't own the place. He didn't choose to put the ads in. You're the piece of shit in that interaction.
This has been a thing in the States for about 15 years, it's not new. If it's just now becoming a thing where you live, understand that things like Gas TV, or ads for products or fuel additives were around since the late 2000s and early 2010s
On the pumps in my area the mute button is usually the second one from the bottom and it may be on either side. I don't care to watch them while I wait for my 40 gallon tank to fill but if I'm just topping off, I don't bother to mute, I wont be there long. I also grew up before skippable ads and watched Over-The-Air TV where you couldn't skip them. That's why there is still a format where an hour long show is actually 44-46 minute and a 30 minute show is around 22 minute runtimes on streaming services. Those commercial breaks were a speed contest to see if you could grab a snack, use the bathroom, or get a cup of coffee before the show came back on.
There are enough options most places to vote with your wallet. It is ultimately meaningless to the machine, but at least you'll be somewhere with no ads or mutable ads.
I just start pumping then go clean out my car. Sometimes I catch a little of the front or end of the ad. It doesn't really bother me as I'm not paying attention and I still have my car music on
One of the gas stations by my house does something similar but actually cool. They show about 2 minutes of sports highlights from the night before (think SportsCenter Top 10 but also with scores) and then some non-political news headlines.
I actually stand there watching the whole time. They get my business.
Glad that you enjoyed the content, but that would be hell for me; Idgaf about sports. If I am so unlucky to end up at a station with these, I try to mute asap.
I don't live in a big city, by any stretch - but I guess it's not the sticks, because we have that shit around here. And not just the busiest gas stations, by the highway. I hate it.
It's a good time to clean your windshield, check your oil/coolant levels, tire pressure and throw any trash away.. do you really stare at the pump like a n00bz?!
You can't rape the willing.. But if you are dumb enough to return over and over maybe you lack the mental capacity for consent altogether..is there only one gas station you can go to? Are you like a moth that goes towards the light? You know, I can help you get a discounted bus pass for your condition. It seems like it might be the best thing for you ❤️
That's no different than gas. Your phone still knows what you're doing, the credit card people track you, your car (if newer) tracks your every move. At least with electric you're not forced to listen to bullshit ads and it's cheaper.
That being said, I'll stick with my 14mpg if I don't beat on it corn and dinosaur boned fueled hotrod.
Start harassing them any way you can that is not illegal. How long can you 'park' at a gas station pump ? What happens if you accidentally spill gas all over the screen/speaker/system ? Accidents happen and it was their fault for not making a foolproof system..
You can put the pumps in maintenance mode. I did it on accident once looking for the mute button. I held down one of the buttons for like 10 seconds and the pump went into maintenance mode. Just leave it like that lol.