Have you done user-testing?

I haven't but I've seen non-nerds get irritated by popups. Heck, given that their primary complaint about computers is that they're confusing, the last thing they want is for popups to confuse them further.

[EDIT] Here's a study that agrees with me:

http://www.nngroup.com/articles/most-hated-advertising-techn...

I can't find the actual source, though, if a source even exists.