Google's Annoying Ad Onslought

We can't do much about ads while web-surfing beyond trying to ignore them.  But Google's most intrusive innovation is extraordinary annoying.  They keep track of the web sites you surf and, if they are among their paid advertisers, you are in for a dose of ads that are unbelievably stupid and apparently forever.

Example: I bought my grand daughter a dress for her birthday a month in advance, had it shipped to her, and that was that, right?  Wrong.  I am being bombarded with Google ads from that same store for children's clothes.  That's dumb.  If I am a parent buying lots of clothes, I already know about that site and am likely to return (or not) as a result of my experience with their products.  Ad after ad does not change that, at least not in their favor.

Example: Last week I was looking for Haggar slacks because I have lost a little weight.  I was very unhappy with the Haggar choices and decided to look at some of my old, smaller slacks.  I discovered, looking through my closet, that Haggar quality has deteriorated dramatically over the past five years.  The latest pairs are very poor fabric that is so wrinkle free that they won't hold the factory crease, and they don't even contain labels showing their size. My reward? The price has dropped from $35 to $30 since last Fall. It's not worth it. So much for Haggar.  

I also looked for Gold Toe socks, but decided to buy the socks locally because they were so poorly described everywhere I looked on the web.

Same story.  I am now bombarded with Haggar and Gold Toe ads.  I am NOT going to buy them on line;  my web-shopping experience is complete and was a big disappointment.  Why keep annoying me with reminders that I was unhappy?

There is a remedy. It, too, is annoying, but it's effective.  Close the page containing the ad. In Firefox go to Tools/Clear Recent History and select what you want cleared.  You may have to click the Details drop-down.  I check everything except cookies, select the appropriate time frame, then close my browser immediately and restart it.  It's most effective if I shout "SHUT UP" at the same time.  No doubt other browsers have a similar escape route.