Fuck ads at the gas pump

The next step is having to wait for the ad to complete before the gas will pump. "Premium" gas station membership for a fee will provide an ad-free experience, for now, but eventually it will come with ads too.

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.

Anyone have any good ad blocking practices for this?

Don't buy gas from places that do this. Hasn't failed me yet and if more people did it maybe they'll stop.

"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."

– Banksy

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!

I avoid gas stations that have ads. There's a chain where I live that doesn't do them, so they get all my business.

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.

Second button down on the right side of the screen, press it (up to) 4 times and it mutes that shit

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.

bruh I was in vegas a few years ago and there was an lcd running ads over the water tap in the sink in the bathroom of the restaurant (stratosphere iirc).

Neuralink might be worth it if I can install adblock.

Wow, in Europe we haven't reached that gas station modernization stage yet.

I avoid those stations i know have ads, and if surprised... i'm happy to know of the hidden mute button.

I'm just going to leave this here.

Late-stage capitalism means this bullshit will keep creeping into every facet of life. I hate it.

One of my most upvoted comments on here is saying I should be legally allowed to smash those screens if they play ads.

I don't need advertisements shoved in my face every second of every day.

Maybe we need a need OSM tag

just the US speedrunning a dystopic world

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

Come live in NJ. No ads!

Get an EV and you’ll never have to go to a gas station again. None of the chargers I’ve seen have ads on them.

I have never seen any ads in gas pump over here. But at the equivalent of 8$ per gallon, there is no need.

This drives me nuts too. Who the hell decided to do this? I avoid the stations with ads.

If the mute button doesn't work I just go to other stations next time. Some of the gas stations around here have gotten rid of the ads.

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.

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?

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.

Bro, what is going on in the USA 😅 You guys better hope Neuralink fails otherwise there'll be ads right in your craniums.

Is this a thing in Canada yet? Thankfully have never seen it here.

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.

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.

I have never experienced this. Where do you have ads at gas stations?

I never saw these before I visited the US. While tanking somewhere in eastern Texas, on my way from Houston to a tiny town south of New Orleans.

My "fix" was waiting in the car with bluetooth buds in, while the pump did its thing. Holy hell those were annoying.

I bought an EV. Now the only time I have to go to a gas station now is to fuel my company car. Yea. I fucking hate ads.

Covertly stab out the speakers.

They never asked for your consent to pollute your mind with invasive thoughts, jingles, etc. Don’t ask for theirs.

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 sit in my car.

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.

Strange things are in the US. The only good adblocker which ocurres me for this

Jokes on them, I start the pump and walk inside to get a drink/snack. By the time I get back I'm done pumping.

Come live in NJ. No ads!

good ad blocking practice = buy a bicycle

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.

you can get fuel delivered to your house, install a few tanks, or straight to your vehicle

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.

Just tried the "2nd button from the top" on both right and left at Wesco (Michigan) - didn't work.

Opt out entirely. Get an electric car. Your gas pump is your garage and you start every day with a full tank.

Holly. Didn't even know such a thing existed. They're taking ads everywhere

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

Never knew this was a thing, that better not come over here.

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.

Damn, paying 4$ for a gallon, here in Europe the gallon is more than 7$.

If theres snow on the ground you should take a handful of it and stuff it in the speaker hole. Works great. Or take some hand sanitizer and squirt it in there.

Use a screwdriver. Those speakers are driven from somewhere. There's some way to do maintenance.

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

Time to get an EV you can charge at home 😎

Think of this fact the next time people list off all the “downsides” of owning an EV… like never going to the gas station.

Headphones. Ez.

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.

Hmmm. I don't pump my own gas here in Oregon so I totally forgot this was a thing.

Left hand side second button down -> mute. Might not work everywhere, but it's pretty satisfying to turn it off.

Super glue in the speaker holes seems like a good solution

Costco pumps dont have ads. Only fuel there. Set the other gas starion on fire

Let's just pick a day and all smash them at the same time. Sends a very clear message

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

I actually don't care here lol. It scares me when it makes noise but I just play with my phone anyways.

I wouldn't condone vandalism or anything like that here.

Big city problems. This is why I love living in the sticks

What's a gas pump?

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.

Fuck going to gas pumps, that shits for boomers

Eh I like it, it gives me something to do while pumping...

Honestly I miss when they did news headlines instead of ads, ya hear me Cheddar News, I miss you

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?!

Try keeping thick earmuffs in your car, within quick reach in case the ads start playing.

I've heard switching to EV totally removes the gas pump ads.

Imagine paying 4$ a gallon lool Edit: why am i getting downvoted? 4$ is extremely cheap here i europe. A gallon is 4 liters right?

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..