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Chrome will clamp down on sites with annoying video ads
As part of its ongoing efforts to block annoying video ads, Chrome has announced a new set of video advertising standards. The guidelines are based on data from the Coalition of Better Ads, which says there are three types of video advertising that people hate most. Chrome is taking a strong stance against these ad types, and it says website owners have four months to stop running the intrusive ads, or they will risk losing advertising completely.
Get ready to start seeing video ads in your Instagram feed
If people weren't too happy with the first batch of sponsored posts by Instagram, those temper tantrums might reach a new level soon. According to Adweek, the Facebook-owned imaging service is now rolling out video ads to users' feeds, having been quietly testing them for the past six months. So, starting today, don't be surprised to unexpectedly run into a random 15-second video while you're trying to find a picture of the next great brunch. As it stands, Adweek points out that Instagram is pushing motion ads from Activision, Banana Republic, CW and Lancome, but chances are you'll start seeing others from more companies as time goes on. In the meantime, head on past the break to check out what you can expect -- because you're dying to know.
Spotify giving 30 minutes of nonstop music if you watch a video ad
Though a quarter of Spotify users pay $10 a month to avoid ads, the other 30 million have to put up with them. Now, Spotify is set to roll out a new form of advertising that may ease (or add to) some of that pain: video commercials. There will be two forms: "Video Takeover" ads will be played regularly on Spotify's desktop apps, but let advertisers to buy an entire slot of time. Meanwhile, "Sponsored Sessions" will let mobile users watch short videos in exchange for 30 minutes of ad-free listening. In either case, ads will be limited to 15- or 30-seconds. It might seem odd to play TV commercials on a radio service, but Spotify pitched the idea to advertisers in June at Cannes and major players like Coca Cola, McDonald's and Ford signed on for the launch. Ad Age said that Spotify will play ads exclusively for those brands by year's end in the US, UK and six other markets. It'll roll out worldwide to any interested company in 2015.
Prepare yourself: Facebook video ads are headed your way soon
Get ready: video ads are set to become a permanent fixture in your Facebook feed by late April or early May. The social network has been testing 15-second spots since December and, after a few delays, officially started offering them as an option to select advertisers today. Both mobile and desktop ads will autoplay in your feed, but won't have audio unless you click on them (so you won't have to worry about disturbing your cubemate when you're Facebook stalking your ex). On mobile, those ads will download only when you're connected to Wi-Fi, so they won't gobble up all your mobile data, but you'll still see them when you're on the move. There's no way to opt out of seeing the ads. Though, legend tells of a magical browser extension that can "block" all ads online (not that we'd ever endorse such a thing). Our quick solution? Treat them like the million baby pics your college roommate posts and scroll by as fast as possible. [Image courtesy Flickr/mkhmarketing]
Facebook confirms autoplay video ads are coming to your News Feed
They've been a long time coming, but Facebook's new video ads are finally here. Confirming an earlier report from the Wall Street Journal that said they'd launch this week, the company said it will test promoted videos on a limited number of users' News Feeds, kicking off with mini trailers for the new film Divergent. Leaning on a model utilized by Instagram, Facebook's video ads will automatically play when they appear onscreen -- although sound will be muted on both the desktop and mobile, unless you deliberately click on the video. Facebook has also worked around the question of load times and mobile data caps, choosing to cache the videos on your device ahead of time while you're connected via WiFi, even if they don't play until later. While you won't be able prevent the new ad units from popping up, they can be avoided with some quick scrolling, just like you did with Facebook's other sponsored content.
Microsoft and MediaCart prepping self-checkout carts, with RFID, video and grocery lists for good measure
We've heard plenty of these initiatives before, but with the likes of Microsoft pushing the tech, it might not be too long before we're all pushing a super-connected shopping cart down the aisle. Microsoft's aQuantive acquisition last year has the company looking to new ad venues, and apparently shopping carts are one of those. Microsoft has been working with a company called MediaCart which builds a cart-mounted computer that helps consumers navigate the store, and then checks them out when they're done. Microsoft wants to bring video ads into the mix, and the companies will start testing out the carts in ShopRite markets in the second half of 2008. Shoppers can bring their list to the store with a swipe of their loyalty card, and RFID tracks their movements around the store to pinpoint advertisements and other useful information. That's a whole lot of tech coming soon to a bum near you.
