The study's authors defined "creepiness" by the feeling consumers get when they sense an ad is too personal because it uses data the consumer did not agree to provide, such as online-search and browsing history.
In addition, some of the ads mentioned a special promotion for students at the college they were attending, while others mentioned the promotion but not that it was for students at that college.
The participants were asked questions about the ad that ranked their perceptions of creepiness, their feelings about seeing the ad, the likelihood they would purchase the advertised product and whether they felt manipulated by having seen the ad they were shown.
Based on these findings, online marketers should recognize that consumers feel violated when ads are tailored too specifically, Barnard said.