Adobe and Greystripe partner for ads that convert Flash to HTML5
By Sean Hollister 
posted June 8th 2010 1:24AM
posted June 8th 2010 1:24AM
When you complain about Apple's products lacking Flash support, we figure you're talking about games and video, but web developers have to make a living too, right? That's why Greystripe and Adobe are working together to bring ads to iDevices all around, with an intriguing technology that might one day enable the real reasons we want Flash as well. Like the Smokescreen demo we saw last week, Greystripe can reportedly transcode the banned content to HTML5 on the fly, and it's apparently impressive enough that Adobe's signed on to create an interactive, crossplatform ad solution (also on Android and Java devices) priced and marketed specifically to rival Apple's own. With Apple's distinguished record as keeper of the walled garden, we'll see how well that goes, but we're definitely interested in other possibilities for the company's code. Full press release after the break. Greystripe Delivers Adobe Flash Authored Ads Across iPhone, iPad, Android and Mobile Web
San Francisco, CA – June 7, 2010 – The leading independent mobile advertising network, Greystripe, announced today they are collaborating with Adobe to provide rich media, interactive ad solutions across Android, iPhone, iPad and the mobile web. Greystripe is working with Adobe to widen support for these ad solutions across the digital advertising ecosystem, which will be detailed in forthcoming announcements.
The ad solution is comparable to Apple's recently introduced iAds unit; however, unlike iAds, they will be authored with Adobe® Flash® authoring tools, priced at a fraction of the cost, and come in both expandable banner and full screen interstitial formats. Since Flash is the standard for developing rich media digital advertising, these solutions will give brand advertisers and digital agencies the ability to retain full control over ad development, reduce costs by preserving existing workflows while enabling support for HTML5, provide advertisers reach across all major desktop and mobile platforms, and decrease the time between ad concept and delivery.
"Our collaboration with Adobe underscores our commitment to bringing engaging, rich media, cross platform ad solutions to our advertisers," said Michael Chang, CEO, Greystripe. "We're thrilled to announce this proven alternative to iAds and offer digital agencies and brand advertisers the broadest possible reach across platforms and devices worldwide."
"We are committed to providing agencies the best tools and a consistent and ubiquitous Flash runtime to create digital ads and deliver them across desktop and mobile platforms," said Ricky Liversidge, vice president, Product Marketing, Flash Platform at Adobe. "By working with Greystripe, a leading provider of Flash authored advertising for mobile devices, we enable agencies to benefit from the power of the Flash platform while also targeting devices with HTML5."
Greystripe will offer its technology to deliver Flash authored ads as HTML5 to mobile devices that do not support Flash Player (such as the iPhone and iPad); these ads will be supported in both applications and on the mobile web. Greystripe's new technology for Apple's Safari web browser will allow real-time transcoding of Flash authored creative work to HTML5. For Flash enabled devices, tablets, and smartphones like the Nexus One with Android OS 2.2, Flash authored ads will be easily delivered through Greystripe's ad network, which consists of over 2,500 mobile applications across iPhone, iPad, Android and Java.
For more information, please visit www.greystripe.com/flashads.
@Michael Scrip
I like Lightroom (currently on ver 2). Waiting for LR3 reviews now.
@paulfalgout Errr, Lightroom's competition is not iPhoto, it's Aperture. This is Adobe's core competency. Flash is not (they got Flash from Macromedia). Adobe tends to update their RAW compatibility for new cameras way quicker than Apple.
@paulfalgout
I use Windows... hence LightRoom...
My above comment was a joke. I was waiting for a response to that comment, but I'll make it here instead:
My point was... Steve Jobs wrote a letter describing his distaste of Flash. Then everyone freaks the fuck out.
There are 100 million Apple devices that can't use Flash... but there are 1 BILLION devices that CAN use Flash. So what is Adobe so worried about?
Adobe says "you can use Dreamweaver for HTML5" and in this article "we can convert your Flash ads to HTML5"
I don't think Adobe has anything to worry about... they are just adapting their products to take advantage of future technology.
Which begs the question... does Adobe believe HTML5 is the future? They are making tools for HTML5 right now... will they ever step aside and let HTML5 take over Flash for video?
@Michael Scrip http://cs5.org/?p=1028 they already have products for HTML5... do they believe its the future? Yes, which is why they have been behind it developing tools and advancing the platform from the beginning
@Michael Scrip
OK...just stop...it seems you have no clue what HTML5 is and how it fits in this context and you're bringing up irrelevant things like photo editing software and...basically you're making me cringe with each post with how little you know but how much you THINK you know. It's embarassing.
Stop.
@Tes
Copied from my post above:
I said WHAT IF some other software came along to unseat Photoshop from its throne...
And WHAT IF people stopped using Flash to create ads and video...
I use Photoshop and Dreamweaver every day... and Premiere a few times a week too. (CS3 on Windows)
I'm just hypothesizing a future where Adobe Flash doesn't control 98% of interactive web content... and where $700 Photoshop doesn't rule the industry.
I also said multiple times that this is never gonna happen anyway... so relax...
@Michael Scrip
Copied from my post above:
Stop
although i dont hate adobe i dont like them as well. yes it does crash but so does other things it likes ram but what kind of crap computers cant use a little ram as for ads iads seems kool but i do not want to see it in all of my apps and mobile web sites in ads
if you can't beat'em .... join'em ... With ads lol
Isn't ads the real reason Adobe wants flash on iOS? I figure they would came up with an html5 ad tool faster then this. See Steve is right Adobe is slow and lazy.
@taoprophet420 yes and no. they want money. ads is only part of it. Chances are they won't make any money off the ads themselves. But rather off the sales of the software that makes the ads, the videos etc. So they want to keep themselves relevant. So that they can keep making money.
Not all things Flash are ads, guys. A lot of us complained that iPhone lacked Flash support, and now that there's a workaround there are complaints? Typical internet.
Don't forget Strong Bad.
http://smokescreen.us/demos/sb45demo.html
@Pal
Don't forget porn!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IraQfhlMwi4
Adobe is trolling Apple hardcore here. Oh, you don't want flash on your iPhone, how about we convert all of our flash ads to HTML5 for you??? The iPhone will be known as the adPhone
@HighestRanked2
This is for advertising.. not games or video..
What exactly is adobe doing that is good for the apple community?
Exactly, nothing.. in fact, they are adding to the ad-flooded environment soon to come once iOS4 and iAd becomes mainstream.
Adobe are taking away the only place where I could get away from Flash.
Oh why won't they please let it go. This is getting ridiculous. These companies are turning against each other because one doesn't like a piece of software that the other made.
@John Lennon thats not what this is about, its about allowing sites to continue to exist and pull in revenue... it costs money to maintain websites and ads recover that... this has nothing to do with companies being "against" each other
@John Lennon - Flash != Ads anymore than magazines, newsprint, or the television does. Flash is just a medium for content delivery, not the content itself.
Everyone forgot about this, last October?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v69S22ZBBqA
Flash to HTML5 was always the plan. Problem was standards weren't complete and interaction with the ad.
Ads are used for sites to survive. Your lucky your not paying to view each website you encounter.
"transcode the banned content to HTML5 on the fly" er... you mean, ads? notks
@Wesscoast nice bit of FUD there isn't it. because it's not really the content that was banned. just the medium (okay flash based porn was both).
Come on, don't be surprised. Ad $$ makes the search engine crawl and porn makes the people browse. I should be in the lotion business.
@HighestRanked2
They can collaborate with Greystripe to develope a more efficient code for converting videos and games later on as well...that is the light.
Awesome!
(But only because my cats are named Grey and Stripe.)
LOL... "Hm, our platform is antiquated, buggy and slow... Lets just partner up with a 3rd party to dev code that will take ads made in Flash and port it to HTML5. Great idea! That is much easier than fixing the problems with our own product!"
Morons!
Don't even get me started on the fact that we are forced to deal with ad spam on our own computers and devices!
Boo Adobe, Boo!
We won't give you YouTube or games, but as a sign of our love, you can have a shitload of ads!
Since most smartphone platforms include a WebKit browser that supports HTML5, websites should simply output HTML5 ads to them, as a rule. This approach would even cover low-midrange smartphones that may never be capable of running Flash.
HTML5 ads could also be used, to circumvent FlashBlock/AdBlock plug-ins installed on desktop browsers.
Instead of continuing to proliferate Flash content, websites should implement HTML5 & begin forcing users with legacy browsers (IE6/7/8) to upgrade to modern HTML5 browsers (Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, IE9).
@HereAndNow
"HTML5 ads could also be used, to circumvent FlashBlock/AdBlock plug-ins installed on desktop browsers."
AdBlock works filtering any contents from defined address, so when you create such a rule
http://*.happyads.com/ads/*
It just blocks everything from servers using address like that http://blabla.happyads.com/ads/blabla
...and "blabla" can be anything
This is awesome news, Adobe got cock blocked by Apple with the whole third party software policy change so now they're thinking outside the box. Good on them.
There was alway going to be advertising on the iPhone/iPad. You need to understand that Apple's cockblocking had more to do with them pushing iAd and controlling that 100% (hence more dollars). This is a much better solution as it allows current ad designers to use existing tools without having to purchase new tools to create the same ads.
Someone mentioned before that advertising revenue doesn't make that much for websites? That's a load of crap, more content driven sites vitally depend on it. Advertising is what keeps the internet running, no advertising = no money = no content. Block ads, you kill the internet.
hehe, the i-devices get the bum deal.... only the ads, not the fun parts.
Oh this is just horrible.. converting Flash advertisements for the iPad..NOOOOO!
that means ... Steve has won
@Formul
and that means all apple fanboys have lost.
Dreamweaver can write HTML/CSS markup for me......but I would never rely on it to do so. It would be bloated, messy, and filled with unnecessary crap.
This means nothing.
Great..... Ads on my phone, and I don't see apple approving an ad block app running in the background.
Not to mention the extra bandwidth used by video ads being able to just pop up on my mobile device.
I'm sure Apple will find a way to shut it down post-haste.
At least I can shut Flash off or make the elements clickable.
Now iDevices are stuck seeing these ads as HTML5 has no off switch.
Haha.
Everything will be HTML5 soon enough...
does that mean we would still get ads on our desktop browsers ?
Adblock plus gotta find a way to block html5 now
This is actually a really smart move for Adobe. This way people will still make ads primarily in Flash, and then convert them to HTML5 if and when it's needed, rather then learning how to use HTML5 from scratch, and potentially abandoning Flash down the line.
You asked for HTML5, you got it. Rammed up you idevices.