How is this a failure? The old boarding pass contained advertisements too, and actually much more of them. The requirement for ads was clearly addressed in the article:

  Section 4: Promotional space
  
  A large part of Ryanair’s revenue is generated by
  ancillary income, so allowing for ad space was an
  important business requirement.

So that's that. It's income, and part of keeping the costs down. I don't mind as long as I can hide them by folding the paper.

Because that's how RyanAir can afford to chafe their customers cheaper prices than many other airlines. Every ad you remove is an increase in the price of the airfare. Passengers on a budget airline are generally likely to make the trade for lower prices.