In August, YouTube announced it would insert overlay ads in the stream of clips. These clips were to be implemented in only certain channels. Beet assumes these to be more professionally produced video from sources including Ford Models. He’s one of the first reports on NewTeeVee.
Beet.TV has found limited implementation of the overlay ads. You can find it this rock video Dandelion Weird-Out from This Modern Video
A screen-wide, horizontal banner at the bottom of the page appears at about 20 seconds into the stream and is gone in about 15. I find it fairly unobtrusive.
If you click on the banner, a smaller-sized player emerges to cover most of the YouTube player. You can watch the gory trailer for the new Halloween movie. If you get tired or grossed out, you close the player and return to the music video. This is a pretty cool way to watch a movie trailer. See the ‘screen within the screen" below:
There are some big implications here for advertisers: If viewers on YouTube want to click on a banner to open a second player, the video content has to be compelling. Sure, it doesn’t need to be a slasher movie, but there has to be an entertainment or informational element in these video ads. Herein lies the big opportunity for marketers who must create content that Web viewers will want watch.
Be very afraid of this particular click through to Halloween movie site! The landing page has a throbbing terror soundtrack so keep you speakers off if you’re at work — and there’s lots of nasty graphic images which our family channel doesn’t condone 🙂
Hey, I would have pasted the YouTube clip right here for your edification, but the "share embed" on this clip appears to be turned off. It may be that these clips with ads will not be sharable. It looks to me that ads are only visible on the play pages of YouTube. But, I can’t figure this our immediately.
For some thoughts on advertising on Google and YouTube, check out this interview just published with Google ad honcho Tim Armstrong in the Toronto Globe & Mail.
— Andy Plesser
YouTube
