Tricky Dicky Advertising
IQIYI is a Chinese streaming service for Asian dramas, films, etc. The subtitles are often unintelligible and the software almost unnavigable, but I got monumentally bored with U.S. television during Covid. So, I paid for IQIYI’s VIP subscription. They imply it will be ad-free. Not true. As soon as I paid, suddenly ads started popping up. I should have noticed their statement actually says something like, “You don’t have to WATCH ads.” It does not say ads won’t pop up and annoy you. Which means, in double-speak, you have to interrupt your viewing experience to click a button to dismiss the ad. Irritating but tolerable. Then I learned, if you watch IQIYI on their website, instead of their standalone app, it is (almost) ad-free. They still harass you with pop-ups, but this time it’s ads urging you to use their app instead of the ad-free website. Why should you switch? They suggest you’ll have a better viewing experience, but I suspect it’s really so they can harass you again with those nasty little pop-up ads. The ones I’ve seen seem to be mostly for McDonalds. Between the unhealthy food and McDonalds cooperating with these semi-dishonest tactics, guess whose family will never eat another McJunkburger? Finally, (gullible fool that I am) I invested a lot of time watching 33 of a 40 episode Chinese drama. It’s almost the end. The suspense is building. The lovers have united and parted so often you’ve lost track. We’ll find out if it has a happy ending, and we’ll be finished with so many episodes that it’s become a habit rather than a pleasure. Wait! What’s their latest gimmick? If I want to see the end, I have to pay extra for their most expensive subscription? Where did it clarify that when I started this “Neverending Story”? I’m insulted and disappointed that IQIYI thinks it’s O.K. to not state policies clearly and honestly. Will I renew my subscription? Doubtful. Very, very doubtful.