Today I saw my first embedded video advertisement on a web page. Now, I’ve seen the fancy flash ads that run across the screen, pop up or are just placed as a banner, but those are like animation not full motion video. The online version of the Wall Street Journal today has a full motion video advertisement, with sound, for FedEx regarding international shipping. It’s new, so it stopped me dead in my tracks. I saw the screen moving much more than an animated GIF would and I was intrigued. So, naturally I clicked on the sound button and low and behold I was watching TV on a website. I have a DSL connection so this worked fantastic. However, I figure the novelty will last only months and then it will just be another ad. Given I pay for my online subscription to the WSJ, I will be upset if they put in a larger ad or insert it between pages, but I think that is the future for free content online. It’s as easy as putting a page in the click process that makes you watch a full motion advertisement before letting you on to the next page of information. It?s very annoying if you ask me, but it could incent people to subscribe to a pay service without ads. Either way, keep your eyes on the look out for full motion advertising online. It’s here!
About the Author
Darin Archer is chief product officer at Yottaa, a performance optimization company serving hundreds of eCommerce brands. He has led product strategy for major eCommerce platforms at Adobe, IBM, and Elastic Path, and has retail experience at Gap Inc., where he worked to wrangle martech and create better digital shopping experiences.
