Last year VideoClix.TV demoed an early version of its creepy, yet intelligent video advertising technology in an episode of Revision3's Diggnation, the popular podcast starring Digg.com's Kevin Rose and co-host Alex Albrecht. The technology, which inserts clickable advertising in every element of the video, gives users a way to be linked up to online retailers for any product or service that's seen in videos. It also lets users click on things not for sale to see any related information from elsewhere on the Web--a handy service that's usually ended up with horribly annoying results when applied to text ads (see IntelliTXT).
Today the company announced it will be put into use in all of Revision3's programming--starting with the latest episode of Diggnation filmed last week in Amsterdam. Other Revision3 shows will follow, including Tekzilla, The Totally Rad Show, and Internet Superstar. In its first version, users were required to download the video and play it back in Apple's QuickTime player to get the technology to work. However, in the latest model, the self-contained Flash player now includes small overlays that pop-up from the right side of the player and link off-site. There's also an entire list of embedded objects users can browse. Clicking any of them will skip ahead to the part of the show.
What the technology brings to the table is an alternative to the pre, post, and video overlay models of advertising usually seen in Web video. Services such as Asterpix have been moving toward such a model, linking to information or reference sites over advertising alone. Personally I find it much more useful and fun to use than current iterations of overlay ads, although I'm sure video purists will be turned off by how much product placement can be intentionally packed into videos without them even realizing it.
You can test out the new technology with the latest episode of Diggnation here. You can also check out the earlier iteration of the technology from a show filmed in 2007.
VideoClix.TV ads show up as small overlays on the side of the video. Seen here is clicking on Alex Albrecht's red laptop, which links up to the product page on Best Buy. Creeped out yet?
(Credit: CNET Networks)Video ads for select keywords are now showing up on Google and Yahoo search sites. I took a look and I have to say I prefer the Google ads because they seem less intrusive and obnoxious.
I typed in "smartphone" on Google's search site and saw a hot link that said "watch commercial" under the second sponsored listing on the right side. Clicking on that link opened a small 2-inch-by-2-inch window below the listing that automatically played the 34-second ad. I could pause the video or hide it.
I got a similar experience when I typed in "Curve," except the window was slightly larger and the ad was available underneath one of the sponsored results near the top of the page. But this did not appear every time I tried. Fortunately, I was able to grab a screenshot the one time it worked for me.
The Curve video ad on Google search.
(Credit: Google, RIM)But do I really need a big window to watch an ad? I like how Google's ads are smaller and don't interfere with the rest of the page, allowing me to continue to view the "organic" or non-paid search results while the ad is playing. On Yahoo, when I click the ad I can forget about doing anything else while the ad is playing, and I have to click the "X" to close the window and get back to the search results.
It will be interesting to see how many people actually click on the new video ads. To be honest, I wouldn't have if I weren't a curious journalist doing my job.
Video ads on Yahoo search take over the page. This screenshot shows an ad for Special K.
(Credit: Yahoo, Kellogg's)
Microsoft is putting a stop watch on new video-ads found on the company's Web sites.
Visitors to MSN will see an advertisement prior to watching their first video and then new ads will appear every three minutes after. The ads not only show up in the video player but they also unfold an extended section that is similar to a pop-up ad.
This is a different tact taken by Google's YouTube, which last month began testing an overlay format that appears at the bottom of the screen for 10 seconds before disappearing.
Both companies are trying to figure a way to tip-toe around ads so as not to irk users. Many of Google's customers have complained about the overlay ads calling them a distraction.
Unlike Google, Microsoft continues to offer a so-called preroll, which has been criticized by users and advertising experts. Many studies show that users flee from sites that require them to watch an ad before a video. And instead of a 15-second ad, a length adopted by most Web sites, Microsoft has chosen to go with 30-second spots.
The ads will also appear at Microsoft's video-sharing site, Soapbox.
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