NPR: YouTube Starts Showing Ads with Videos

YouTube Starts Showing Ads with Videos

It's fairly safe to say that we all knew this day was coming. Google, the owner of YouTube, has decided to combine ads with videos it shows on the video-sharing site. After all, Google spent $1.65 billion on YouTube -- I guess it's time to start making a little of that investment back for the shareholders.

But I give the Google folks full marks for creativity -- they may have finally figured out a way to get people to watch ads on the 'Net. Just as long as it doesn't interfere with the old Monty Python skits I'm watching or the latest Obama Girl video.

The Los Angeles Times explains it this way: "Fifteen seconds into a music video for the band Madina Lake, an animated pink doughnut rolls along the bottom portion of the video with Homer Simpson in hot pursuit. Viewers can click on Homer to watch a trailer for 'The Simpsons Movie' while the video they originally chose is paused. If they don't click on the ad, it disappears after 10 seconds."

The ads are called "transparent" and use a Flash-based overlay. And if you don't like 'em, you don't have to wait until they disappear -- you can click to kill them right away. (The Times piece says Google executives claim their test runs show people watch the entire ads 75 percent of the time.)

I see this creating a whole new kind of ad -- the five-second ad, designed to get the message across before the viewer can hit the cancel button. Talk about our shrinking attention span.

1:18 PM ET | 08-22-2007 | permalink

Comments

I solved the problem of advertising pop-ups by eliminating the expensive broadband for the cheaper dial-up. Now I don't see anything on the internet.

Sent by dans | 3:49 PM ET | 08-22-2007

E-mail this Page

Recipient's e-mail address:	» Up to twelve addresses, separated by commas.
Your e-mail address:
Your name:
Personal message (optional, 600 characters max):
Your NPR member station:
Are you a member of your local NPR station?	Yes No
Would you like to receive information from your local NPR member station? (see NPR's privacy policy)	Yes No
Please send me updates from NPR.	Yes No

(Information collected by NPR will be used solely for internal NPR or NPR member station purposes and only if you selected 'yes' above. See NPR's privacy policy for more information.)

Tom Regan

Blogger

About Us

This year's election cycle has been one of the most exciting in memory. At the NPR News Blog we'll do our best to bring you interesting, informative -- and controversial -- stories from our own reporters and bloggers, as well as the rest of the best of the Internet and blogosphere. And we hope you'll let us know what you think as well.

Want to learn more? Be sure to read our Frequently Asked Questions and our discussion guidelines.