Missing in action

Since the onset of the plague, a subscription to the Financial Times online offering has more or less replaced more or less daily purchase of the Guardian, although I do make a modest contribution to the funds of these last in return for making some use of their still free online offering. 

Part of the the Financial Times offering is renting out chunks of their pages to advertisements, an activity which they presumably subcontract out to some advertising middle man, perhaps Google. All quite discrete, so on most pages you get up to three advertisements. The first is a banner across the top of the page, and the second two are either banners across the page or more discrete windows on the right hand side. 

For a long time, the banner across the top has been mostly from Bulgari of reference 1, an expensive, Italian flavoured gift shop. So the bottle snapped above could be mine for about £100, plus postage and packing. I assume that VAT is included in the ticket price, but as an international store, catering to international clients, or at least putting on that appearance, one can't be too sure.

Over the past few days, the banner across the top has been going missing for quite protracted periods. That is to say the spot for the banner is still there, coloured in in Financial Times pink, but the banner itself is missing. At least it was for my first few hours of connection this morning, but now given over to a newcomer, Verizon of reference 3. Not a new company that is, but new to these advertising slots.

Is the Financial Times having trouble with its advertisement server, first thing in the morning? Have the Bulgari people decided that advertising in the Financial Times is not worth what they are being charged any more? Do they only advertise for the Christmas bonanza?

PS: I might add that the advertisements I do see tend to be for IT services of one sort or another. Is this because they are the hot ticket for 2022 or does the Financial Times - or their advertising middle man - know something of my interests and viewing habits?

Reference 1: https://www.bulgari.com/en-gb/.

Reference 2: https://www.ft.com/.

Reference 3: https://www.verizon.com/.