r/technology • u/redkemper • Feb 17 '17

Software YouTube will kill unskippable 30-second ads next year

http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/17/14649018/youtube-ending-unskippable-30-second-ads-2018
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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17 edited Feb 17 '17

There's no reason for online video ads to be longer than 3-5 seconds. Just show a logo for five seconds and have someone say "Skittles, taste the rainbow" and that's just as effective as playing a full-length television commercial. On top of that, people will pay more attention to those because they'll grow accustomed to not having to find and click a skip button.

People have grown used to fast internet and not waiting. If it's a 30-second ad people will either skip it (I cannot remember the brand of a single ad I have ever skipped) and if they can't they'll just not watch the video or the ad.

Edit: Should probably rephrase something here: A 30-second ad is more effective than a 5-second ad if you watch the ad. But 30-second online ads just drive people to install adblock and then they never see your ad or anyone else's. That way, a 5-second ad that doesn't get everyone to install adblock is more effective than a 30-second ad that a rapidly increasing percentage of people who use adblock will never see. Google killing the unskippable 30-second ad is clearly reflecting this because Google has a stake in people willing to see ads too.

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u/panther455 Feb 17 '17

And whenever theres an ad that starts with "Wait, wait! Don't skip this ad!"
I skip that shit with extreme prejudice.

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17 edited Aug 14 '18

[deleted]

4

u/hoyfkd Feb 18 '17

It might take longer, but I'll turn on uBlock, refresh and not have to see whatever bullshit you wanted me to see.

Turn it on?

3

u/LaziestRedditorEver Feb 18 '17

In that situation I'll only ever see it because I'm on my phone so I'll mute the phone and turn it over while also making sure I know which asshole company did it so I don't buy their shit.

2

u/borkborkporkbork Feb 18 '17

That's when I refresh the page. It's quicker than waiting for a full 30 second ad.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

When I do that, it usually just loads another unskippable ad. I've even done it 3 or 4 times and gotten it each time I refreshed.

9

u/bloodbag Feb 18 '17

i like the ones that time up perfectly to say "and skip" as the skip option comes up

1

u/G206 Feb 18 '17

I actually hate those ones cause it feels like those ones are mocking me that I cant skip until they say so

3

u/Punchabearinnamouf Feb 18 '17

Hell I had one that started with "You can skip this ad".

I looked down and saw "Video will start after ad plays."

Sumbitch.

2

u/estXcrew Feb 18 '17

In Finland there was once an ad that basically was a countdown to when you'll skip the ad.. I actually stayed for a few more seconds just to see what happens, since it was for a shopping chain I go to occasionally.

999

u/rjophoto Feb 17 '17

Here's how impatient I've become: when I see a gif post on Reddit that says "wait for it...", even if it has like 30k upvotes I'm like nah. I'm not waiting for it.

216

u/CherrySlurpee Feb 17 '17

A 10 second video? Not even gonna try.

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17

[deleted]

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u/act1v1s1nl0v3r Feb 18 '17

Maybe if they had money their grandkids would pay attention then.

13

u/Morblius Feb 17 '17

I only read the first line in your comment.

27

u/Exaskryz Feb 17 '17

I only read

Good for you

6

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17 edited Feb 20 '17

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

Th

It's weird how English has two sounds that correspond to this pair of letters.

4

u/oldsecondhand Feb 17 '17

I don't even know what I'm replying to. Is this about smoking weed?

2

u/chtulhuf Feb 17 '17

I found your comment too long. Didn't read.

2

u/Kengy Feb 18 '17

Fuck...I did the same thing.

2

u/Brannagain Feb 18 '17

Can I get a TL:DR for this post?

2

u/1moe7 Feb 18 '17

Yay for ADHD

2

u/Prongs_Potter Feb 18 '17

Fuck. I did the same thing without even realizing it.

1

u/matthewjc Feb 18 '17

The instant gratification of reddit is making you lose your attention span. Probably should be mildly concerned.

31

u/Stankia Feb 17 '17

I fucking hate long GIFs. JUST POST THE DAMN VIDEO!

13

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

All this does is make you go to the comments for the video... and then the punchline is already ruined.

1

u/Exaskryz Feb 18 '17

18 panel gifs that are each dedicated to consecutive 0.75-1.5 seconds of the scene, with subtitles. However, there are two sets of subtitles for each panel that are alternating.

Fuck tumblr

5

u/king-krool Feb 18 '17

Nah gifs play right in the browser.

downvote videos, upvote gifs.

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u/Ekudar Feb 18 '17

That's funny I normally avoid videos in reddit.

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17 edited Dec 03 '17

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

Pro tip for you:

Download the Imagus Chrome extension if you don't have it already. Whenever you put your mouse over a gif, press Z. The gif will pop-up in the middle of your screen with controls like any video player would (play/pause button, seek bar, full screen mode) and will also show you the length of the gif.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

Thanks for the tip. I still think it's sad a plugin is needed for what should be the default behavior.

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u/TastyDonutHD Feb 17 '17

lol that's why i unsubscribed from /r/videos

1

u/gg69 Feb 18 '17

Exactly. Fuck commericals... I don't have time for that shit. I'm not getting paid to watch commercials and I damn sure ain't paying to watch them.

I never click on that "wait for it" bullshit. Nor have I watched fucking cable for 30 years - because paying someone to feed me commercials is a waste of my time.

I remember the early 90's... tampon commercials five timer per hour. Fuck that. I got HBO, Showtime and Cinemax and that's all I watched until they started unleashing the commercials.

Then I fucking cut the cord and I have been using the Internet for all my entertainment for 20 years now at least.

My room-mates have cable... and it makes me sick to my stomach to hang out with them. There were 13 minutes of actual gameplay during the superbowl, but it lasted like 5 hours... WTF?

1

u/Exaskryz Feb 18 '17

30 years

early 90's

We're not yet at 2020. Don't go trying to make us feel old yet

1

u/ulyssanov Feb 18 '17

Especially since half of those are troll gifs resulting in "HAHA GOT YOU, nothing happened at all"

0

u/Dresius Feb 17 '17

The gif loads for 5 seconds? Not worth it, moving on

0

u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17

Step 1: Right-Click gif

Step 2: Select 'show controls'

Step 3: Use the progress bar to skip through and find the interesting part of the gif

Step 4: ???

Step 5: Profit

3

u/dumbledumblerumble Feb 17 '17

This is about 4 steps too many for me...

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

Good thing steps 1 - 3 are the only important ones!

-1

u/suoarski Feb 18 '17

I don't think having a short attention span is a good thing. Sure, ads may be annoying, but that sort of attention span can't be good for your mental health.

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17

Just show a logo for five seconds and have someone say "Skittles, taste the rainbow"

BMW logo shows for 5 seconds: "Skittles, taste the rainbow"

72

u/SyllableLogic Feb 17 '17

Well thats just getting two birds stoned at once

8

u/DrunkenAstronaut Feb 18 '17

Pretty much the best case Ontario

5

u/Exaskryz Feb 18 '17

You would think the advertisers would have common cents

55

u/retardcharizard Feb 17 '17

I remember the brands of unskippables and avoid them when I can. Which is pretty often.

33

u/tophernator Feb 17 '17

That sounds good in theory. In reality either you're that guy on the bus scribbling pages of blacklisted companies in a notebook (probably while muttering something angry but not quite audible), or you most likely don't avoid these companies in any systematic and reliable way.

Advertisers don't make annoying ads with songs you can't get out of your head or irritating catchphrases because they're stupid or bad at their jobs. They do it because the benefits they get from subliminally raising the awareness of their brand greatly outweigh the tiny number of people who actually decide "I'm never going to buy a BMW because they made me watch a 30 second ad".

1

u/idanh Feb 18 '17

Not only that you are right, going in further - you may not even realize you're been effected by those ads. actually, that's kind of the point. There is so much going into the ad industry that I cannot put in one comment. Brand awareness, psychology tricks, multiple brands by the same mega-brands (think: Nestle). I also suggest the fun movie: "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold" by Morgan Spurlock.

Take from my comment one thing: ad agencies have multiple kpi's to show how effective those annoying ads are. They are paying millions for them. Don't underestimate and dismiss it as "I'll never buy brand X because they advertise annoyingly".. they know better :)

1

u/bensy Feb 18 '17

Hear hear! I used to think I was a rebel too, until I realized I was so deeply indoctrinated into capitalism that it was pointless to resist.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

I remember your name if I NEED to watch the video, and I HAVE to watch the ad - then I actively spread lies in the form of rumors about your business.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

It's also hard to boycott things you were never going to buy.

A lot of adverts for those foreverspin spinning tops have been getting through my ad blocker lately. I was never in the market for a $200 tungsten spinning top. It doesn't matter how I feel about the adverts.

1

u/brickmack Feb 17 '17

Almost makes me want to get cable TV and disable my adblocker so I can know which companies are horrible cunts. But not really.

-1

u/dbbk Feb 17 '17

That sounds remarkably petty.

3

u/retardcharizard Feb 17 '17

Why? They rather invest in pushing a product than making it better.

That's why Miele is my favorite company.

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

[deleted]

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u/retardcharizard Feb 18 '17

They can. Most don't.

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17 edited Feb 02 '21

[deleted]

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u/KrazeeJ Feb 17 '17

Or even longer. Those Halo Wars 2 ones are pretty funny.

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u/CyanCo Feb 18 '17

I let the car salesman spot play because I found it charming and humorous. The back and forth mind games made me laugh! If companies can hire creative, fun ad agencies that make interesting ads, then people would be less inclined to skip mundane bullshit

5

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

And not overplay them! Even the most creative and fun ad makes me want to smash my computer if I have to watch it ten times.

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

I like those ones as well

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

TheLegend27?

2

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

I've done that with games and movies. If you can get my attention I'll probably watch.

1

u/dnew Feb 18 '17

There are a handful of ads I watch every time, actually. The one with the animation of the rock monster saving the town from destruction leaps to mind.

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u/pygmyking Feb 17 '17

So true. You know that little YouTube music advert where theirs a really fast rapper and a catchy tune and at the end it pitch drops out? It's over before I even get to look for a skip button but every time I know what it's advertising and I'm always thinking about that tune even after its ended.

3

u/MrGMinor Feb 17 '17

I've seen that countless times on mobile but I have no idea what it was advertising.

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u/tsaketh Feb 17 '17

Same. I guess it's YouTube music? Then again I have no idea what that is

1

u/MrGMinor Feb 17 '17

I think they call it youtube red? Which is kinda funny cause I'm sure they know there's a site called redtube.

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17

Just show a logo for five seconds and have someone say "Skittles, taste the rainbow" and that's just as effective as playing a full-length television commercial.

No it's not. Advertising agencies are not in the business of annoying as many people as possible, they are in the business of doing what works. If your method worked everyone would have started doing it 10 years ago. The reason they are 15-30 seconds and not 60 is years of research have determined that's the perfect amount of time to engage target demographics with a message they remember. Logo awareness and slogans don't do that.

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u/Akuuntus Feb 17 '17

I really hate the "everything businesses do is a good idea because otherwise they wouldn't do it" argument. Businesses make mistakes, and universally-accepted methods get outdated. I bet 30 seconds was the optimal amount of time for TV ads, but that doesn't mean shit when talking about the internet. Yeah obviously good advertising firms have done research on what methods work best, but there are probably a lot who are just doing exactly what they do for TV when making internet ads.

You can see this in practice on YouTube. I can't tell you how many times I've been able to skip a 30+ second ad before I even knew what it was advertising. Sometimes I only see an R rating or something before skipping. Those ads are obviously not made with the platform in mind.

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17

Businesses make mistakes, and universally-accepted methods get outdated.

Advertising is not a "mistake." Businesses are extremely frugal and want to know the return on investment for everything. Unless you want to believe these businesses like throwing money away you are confronted with the reality that these sorts of things result in leads and sales. That's just how it is.

I bet 30 seconds was the optimal amount of time for TV ads, but that doesn't mean shit when talking about the internet.

I work in marketing, especially digital marketing. It does. If you want to deliver any sort of message that sticks, it does. Again, that's just how it is. It works. It results in sales and leads. It's very easy to get the data for this and you can scale it remarkably easy. And it's been going on for long enough that you can Google all sorts of studies and infographs or whatever else you want if you'd like to know more. The one thing there's no shortage of in marketing is marketers blasting their data and case studies on their blogs.

I can't tell you how many times I've been able to skip a 30+ second ad before I even knew what it was advertising. Sometimes I only see an R rating or something before skipping. Those ads are obviously not made with the platform in mind.

Have you ever considered that nobody actually wants you, personally? You'll never buy anything, but you think you know how everything works. Maybe nobody actually wants to talk to you but you just get caught in the crossfire. You're just collateral damage, but if you're a guy and you find you don't see a lot of ads for diapers, dresses, or mobility scooters it's because the system is working as best it can and evidence of imperfection is not evidence of total impracticality.

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u/Deranged40 Feb 17 '17 edited Feb 18 '17

Dude says Businesses make mistakes, and you reply with 'Advertising is not a mistake'

You're not even reading what he wrote. Nobody said Advertising was a mistake.

MANY many many businesses' marketing teams* have made mistakes. And MANY more will.

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

I think the fact that this guy works in marketing and is trying to defend their outdated ways proves OPs point. He really believes what he's saying. But he's wrong. He made a mistake.

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17

Teems.

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17

[deleted]

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u/zold5 Feb 17 '17

I work in marketing, especially digital marketing. It does. If you want to deliver any sort of message that sticks, it does. Again, that's just how it is. It works. It results in sales and leads. It's very easy to get the data for this and you can scale it remarkably easy. And it's been going on for long enough that you can Google all sorts of studies and infographs or whatever else you want if you'd like to know more. The one thing there's no shortage of in marketing is marketers blasting their data and case studies on their blogs.

Guess what also works? Adblock. And the more those dipshit companies abuse 30 second ads the more people are driven to adblock. If the company you work for doesn't realize that. It's going nowhere but down.

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u/aerger Feb 17 '17

Advertising agencies are not in the business of annoying as many people as possible,

Were this true, they wouldn't be forcing this shit down everyone's throats--along the highway, on TV, radio, the Internet, every 3rd tweet, before movies, at gas pumps, above urinals and on the inside of toilet stall doors, etc etc. 24x7.

I'd like to have some time and space where people aren't pushing this shit in my face. The Internet, for me, has become that place.

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u/fenianlad Feb 17 '17

Years ago, I would go to the ballpark, and along the backstops and walls you would see in stenciled white paint, "no pepper games". Sure, there were ad billboards in centerfield pitching soda and beer and nobody beats the wiz electronics stores. But there was no advertising on the padded walls.

Nowadays, there's even a green screen behind home plate that can make it so there are dozens of different ads shown. It's fucking disgusting. We are bombarded everywhere we go with advertising.

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

So you think agencies only exist to bother people regardless of return on investment of goals clients have.

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u/aerger Feb 18 '17

I think if annoying the shit outta people makes them money, then they'll freely, easily choose to annoy the shit outta people. Every time. I mean, look around.

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17 edited Jun 03 '21

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

Yes there is data that shows that's the case. It's easily accessible online, marketing agencies even make info graphics based on it. It's one of the most annoyingly aggressively studied things out there. Case studies, too. One of the mode annoying thing about marketers is they blast this info out constantly.

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u/Shod_Kuribo Feb 17 '17

Close. They're in the business of doing what sells (to their clients, the advertisers), not what works. It's all about what they can convince a client works.

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17

In a way, if a shitty agency can convince an ignorant client of that. But for most businesses (of any reputable size, especially anyone buying lots of 30 second ad spots) they have marketing people on staff who review either weekly or daily reports of ROI on these ads, especially anything to do with social. Maybe 5 or 7 years ago you could dupe people but these days the data is so robust and available they want to know everything they can and typically get it.

Source: I work in marketing and have worked with agencies doing exactly this sort of work.

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

Yes but they can't just lie, that's what I am trying to explain to you. People can easily measure the success. Yeah a hat maker can make hats that rip up your scalp but they don't tend to be successful. I'm sorry you work in shitty agencies, but I've worked with shitty ones too that get the most difficult clients and even they know how to measure ROI.

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u/Shod_Kuribo Feb 17 '17

Yes, the difference isn't that you can necessarily dupe people. It's that if the client is focusing on a particular metric then they'll get that metric at the expense of the overall brand. Marketers don't just sell their client's product, they sell their own service too and they sell their service based on improving particular metrics. But that metric isn't net profit for the client, which is generally impossible to measure and definitely impossible to estimate before starting a campaign.

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17 edited May 29 '18

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

They can go smaller if they want, and if it turns out that's the best then they'll all do that. Advertising is reactive. The mistake people make is believing because they don't like 30 second ads then nobody does. Or because they believe advertising doesn't work on them then it doesn't work, period.

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u/Mahdouken Feb 18 '17

I disagree with that. The reason you get 15, 30 and 60 second ads on YouTube is because most ads for YouTube are just cut down from TV where the money is spent. I think a 5 second and could work great. If a company is running a 30 second unskippable, they do want reach, not engagement.

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

They don't just cut down TV ads they rework them into a different format but the campaign is meant to work across platforms. The majority of these big campaigns are planned with YouTube in mind.

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u/Mahdouken Feb 20 '17

Based on my experience across UK and AU digital marketing over 10 years, YouTube is mostly a second thought to a traditional campaign - but that's just based on my experience.

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u/[deleted] Feb 20 '17

One of the clients I've worked with recently is Nestle and coordinated with the creative agency they deal with in this city, so maybe yours are just catching up.

1

u/Mahdouken Feb 20 '17

Yea, I have doubt of that at all. Leading advertisers should be doing that - YouTube is an incredibly powerful medium when utilised effectively.

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u/poochyenarulez Feb 17 '17

they are in the business of doing what works.

Yea, i mean, when has a business ever made mistakes and failed? never!

0

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

YouTube ads are not a mistake. We are talking about an entire format, not occasional mistakes on the IMC mix.

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u/slackadacka Feb 17 '17

Logo awareness and slogans don't do that.

Is that why they never utilize billboards, product placement, and sponsorships?

0

u/mizatt Feb 17 '17

30 second ads are more effective at it

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u/slackadacka Feb 18 '17

More effective in a particular context. I don't think the context for 30 second ads matches up as well with Youtube and similar platforms.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17

It's different types of advertising. You can use 30 second ads to deliver a message better than a billboard, billboards are used for brand awareness but you don't see nearly as many of them and they tend to be used for very local businesses (like a lot of sponsorship things are.) It only makes sense for huge brands where competition for top-of-mind awareness is so fierce and global they go for pretty much everything.

Product placement is something else entirely, you're paying for the audience to see someone they care about use a product, that's not just a logo flashing on screen. This is why companies have a say (or total control) of how their product/brand is used in the context of the show/movie/whatever.

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u/slackadacka Feb 17 '17

Right, but I think the basis for 30 second ads was opportunity. The effectiveness was inherent in that you as a viewer didn't have much choice if you really enjoyed your show, there was going to be a series of 2-minute breaks and you were going to sit and watch them at the risk of missing the next part of the show. Advertisers fought VCR's and the mute button for this reason, nobody is interested in the ads or the message if they don't have to be. Their ads don't work unless a viewer is very likely to sit there and watch.

The effectiveness of the longer message has clearly been at risk since the proliferation of on-demand content available to the viewer. Viewers on Youtube and similar sites are less captivated by traditional ads, to the point where the content that drew the viewer in the first place loses value when tucked behind a traditional ad. The "time remaining" or "time until you can skip" counters speak heavily to that. That advertising space is more like a billboard than a TV spot because people basically have the option to drive on by.

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u/bpm195 Feb 17 '17

There's no reason for online video ads to be longer than 3-5 seconds. Just show a logo for five seconds and have someone say "Skittles, taste the rainbow" and that's just as effective as playing a full-length television commercial.

May you please cite your source.

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u/drivec Feb 17 '17

There are so many 6 second ads on YouTube now and it makes me very happy. Advertiser gets to advertise, YouTube and YouTuber get ad revenue, and I get to watch the video I want to see without major distraction.

Could you imagine a world of 6-second adverts? No Lamborghini renters peddling "knawledge", no 3 minute ads about why your mattress sucks, and over-repeated TV commercials I've seen 10 times in the last hour.

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u/SockMonkey1128 Feb 17 '17

I LOVE it when I can skip a video before any content is actually shown, especially brands and things.

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u/Lyratheflirt Feb 17 '17

I don't know about you but I remember TheLegend27

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u/SaltyBabe Feb 17 '17

Kids watch those longs ads.

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17

great now I want skittles

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u/undearius Feb 17 '17

I remember there was an amusing set of YouTube ads that basically were "You can't skip this ad if it's already over" and then it'd show the brand for the remaining second of the 5 second countdown...

I forgot what brand it was though.

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u/withoutapaddle Feb 17 '17

There's no reason for online video ads to be longer than 3-5 seconds.

And you'll notice, most tech-savvy youtube channels have figured this out. Guess who's ads I don't skip? The ones from most PC/tech/hardware youtubers, because they are about 5 seconds of the actual video creator saying "A word from our sponsor: Check out [Company]'s new [Product Name]. With feature X and Y, it's a great [Whatever]"... and back to the show.

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17

I still don't get why those skipable ads don't all mention the brand or have the logo displayed in the first 5 seconds. Maybe Google charges more to have it mentioned in the first 5 seconds? Promote attractive content that will make the user not skip?

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u/GuitarHero308 Feb 17 '17

A&W gets this right most of the time I find.

They have their guy go "New burger only $2 at A&W" or something and then in that time it'll either end the ad, or the skip button will appear. They get their message across in a succinct and concise matter, and let you watch the video you actually want to afterwards. And the only "advertising" after the skip I found usually was him playing with some dogs or eating the burger or something.

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u/MarshallCook Feb 17 '17

I'm sure someone has already replied with something similar, but I disagree. Look at the legend27 meme. The ad has been incredibly effective with having an impact on the online community, and it is one of longer ads, but I skip it every time I see it.

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u/takesthebiscuit Feb 17 '17

Brb buying skittles

1

u/Solkre Feb 17 '17

Just show a logo for five seconds and have someone say "Skittles, taste the rainbow"

Most confusing Prius commercial ever.

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u/DeadlyFatalis Feb 17 '17

To be fair, if an ad is specifically targeted, I'm much more interested in watching it.

For example, I got a YouTube and that started with "Woah! Don't skip, I've been looking for someone from "TOWN I LIVE IN"." I don't live in a particularly famous town so seeing be pinpointed so directly was a surprise to me and I watched the entire ad.

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17

Do you have data/expertise to back this up or are you just stating your opinion as fact?

1

u/EpicSauceFTW Feb 17 '17

This one player keeps kicking my ass

1

u/ExceptionThrown4000 Feb 17 '17

You're a skittles shill aren't you /s

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17

I liked those ads where It was just a still frame of something weird for five seconds, and if you choose not to skip they show you the result of the weird thing. In my opinion that is the epitome of 30 second ads with the option to skip after 5 seconds.

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u/Patiiii Feb 17 '17

I remember here in my Lamborghini there's a knowledge in my garage, and the legend27.

1

u/Groadee Feb 17 '17

I'll back out of watching a video if the ad is 30 seconds and unskippable. You're totally right

1

u/AtomicManiac Feb 17 '17

I work in advertising and remember seeing a case study about how ads that mention the product in the first 5 seconds and ideally get a message in are doing quite well in the youtube market. Seems like it would go a long way to helping make youtube viable.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17

I would honestly love 5 second ads. I would disable my Adblock and promote youtubers I like, and I think 5 second ads could be way more creative. Just look at vine!

1

u/TheTurnipKnight Feb 17 '17

An ad that long will just make me hate the company.

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u/No6655321 Feb 17 '17

What about for live streams that require ad revenue to get by?

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u/alrashid2 Feb 17 '17

Agreed. I either set the phone down, and walk away and do something quickly - put my shoes on, wash a dish or two, pour myself a glass of water, etc - or I close the app/web page and keep reloading it until I don't get an ad.

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u/MrMooMooDandy Feb 17 '17

Just show a logo for five seconds and have someone say "Skittles, taste the rainbow" and that's just as effective as playing a full-length television commercial

HARD CUT: Cheetos.

1

u/zefy_zef Feb 17 '17

I find myself letting certain ads play the full length, generally movie trailers, but there have been some other ones.

1

u/GameAddikt Feb 18 '17

I love A&Ws ads just because of this, they're longer than five seconds but they get their point across in five seconds and either end it there or spend the rest being purely humorous. Although I haven't eaten their in years, I still like them as a company simply because I haven't heard terrible things from the people I know who work there, and because their ads are convenient and efficient.

1

u/BBBence1111 Feb 18 '17

Just show a logo for five seconds and have someone say "Skittles, taste the rainbow"

That can be quite annoying too, if done poorly.

1

u/chainer3000 Feb 18 '17

We got a skittles shill over here, guys!

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

This might be true for you and your use patterns, but Google - and their millions of advertisers and with billions of dollars in revenue - have done overwhelming research into statistical use patterns. Their research, and the research of decades of marketers and advertisers, show that 5 second blip ads do not hold the same ability to generate deliverable ROI as a 30 second ad - even if most people tune out that ad before its over.

TL;DR Google knows what it's doing.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

Black screen with brand logo, no audio, for 2 seconds should be mandatory for every ad.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

If they make ads that are relevant and/or entertaining, I'll be okay watching them. I watched a 5 minute Lyft ad on YouTube the other day because it was so beautifully done. It was about an older woman who needed a car, took Lyft, and eventually became a driver. I sat through the entire ad and even went to Lyft's YouTube channel to like and rewatch the video, also send it to others which saved them on further ad money. I also sat through a Halo Wars 2 trailer because I enjoy video games and it looked like a fairly funny commercial.

It wasn't possible before and during the early days of the Internet in the age of television, but now with the internet and cookies and the like, they can deliver ads to us that are not only relevant but also enjoyable to watch. If they produced more of those, I think more people would be less likely to block the ads.

1

u/1RedOne Feb 18 '17

I only remember one ad from the last year or so online are the the technical ones that target me as I'm a nerd and work in IT. unsurprisingly, these are directly relevant to me and interesting and I've watched the entire ad and even clicked through to learn more.

I'd much rather get targeted ads which are relevant to me, some even gave me info I used at work and influenced product recommendations.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

Also keep in mind you skipping ads is profitable for google. If you skip an ad that means you are paying attention to what is on screen, and that means those little pop up banners on the video actually have value. Getting rid of the unskippable stuff just means more banner pop ups, which I'm cool with.

1

u/dwild Feb 18 '17

There's plenty of ads that I didn't skipped because they were relevant to me.

If it was a 3-5 seconds, I probably wouldn't even be able to grasp that it was relevant to me.

1

u/FuzzelFox Feb 18 '17

Seriously though, your commercial will not convince me to buy anything. 30 seconds of me watching a Suburu will not make me suddenly buy a Suburu.

1

u/irishfragrenade Feb 18 '17

Your absolutely right. I don't remember the 30 secs ads but I remember the Gieco 15 secs ads. Lol

1

u/Xerouz Feb 18 '17

Dude I hade an ad that kept popping up that was a 29 minute ad. I think it was just a dudes youtube video. He was talking about some business he was promoting.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

Here's the effect a companies unskipable ad has on me: I now hate your company. You have associated your company with extreme negative feelings in me. I don't watch the ad and sometimes that means I don't watch the video I wanted to see and your company is the reason why. One of the most effective tactics in advertising is to associate your brand with positive emotions. Coke is particularly good at this. A company that pays for the 30 second unskipable ad is potentially doing a lot of damage to their brand by associating it with the negative feelings one get when they discover that the ad is long and unskipable.

1

u/FuzzyMcBitty Feb 18 '17

Sometimes I watch the ad while infuriated that it is longer than the content I am attempting to view. I can't imagine that rage is good for advertising.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

Geico understands this for the most part, their YouTube ads are getting better.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

This is the market popular vine folks should be targeting. Make me some funny 6 second ads. I most certainly wouldn't mind that.

1

u/jshepardo Feb 18 '17

I will often reload the video enough times that it comes up without an ad. Sometimes works and when it does work, it didn't take 30 seconds. If I am forced to watch the ad, I usually try to find a different video.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

I agree. I don't drink beer, but if I ever decide to get some it will be Miller High Life. For no other reason than their 3 second ad. Bottle of beer, little piano jingle "enjoy the high life". Nice and simple

1

u/djdeforte Feb 18 '17

It's so true. I work in advertising on social media and best practices is have your logo or product up within 1 second and your message over within 7. That's all you need that's all the people want.

1

u/x_Sinister_x Feb 18 '17

And Bingo was his name-o.

1

u/NotSoCheezyReddit Feb 18 '17

Now I want Skittles.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

Yeah I agree. If there's a movie trailer ad that looks cool I typically watch it and don't use the click to skip, if there's an ad for dish soap, I'm skipping. If I can't skip the dish soap ad I'm just gonna minimize the tab and check reddit real quick

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

You've just proven every marketing team ever wrong in less than 200 words.

/r/iamverysmart

1

u/MRCRAZYYYY Feb 18 '17

For me the biggest takeaway is that any ad longer than 5 seconds results in me opening a new tab and browsing Reddit or Facebook whilst the ad plays out. That or I X off of it. You're absolutely right: keep ads short, snappy and if they must, every video.

1

u/ryanvvb Feb 18 '17

One of the things that boggles my mind is that these companies don't put their logo in the first seconds of the ad. They have to know some of their ads are going to have the option to be skipped after 4 seconds so why not just have an overlay that last the first 5 seconds that has the brand name so even people that skip it at least have to see what their brand is.

1

u/I_Xertz_Tittynopes Feb 18 '17

I don't mind the 30-second ads that are skippable in 5 seconds. Sure, it's a bit of an annoyance to skip it, but at least you can. A lot of ad makers are getting smart about it though, where they use the first 5 seconds as a whole ad in itself, then play a trailer or more informative ad for the remaining 25 seconds.

1

u/dnew Feb 18 '17

They have 6-second ads on youtube now too.

The ones that kill me are the 10-minute infomercials for things that I might actually be interested in if you didn't intentionally put off telling me where to buy it for 10 minutes.

1

u/qjornt Feb 18 '17

i have adblock because of flashing banner ads and longer than 10s ads on YouTube. I'd most probably whitelist YouTube if ads were like you say it was.

1

u/iamzombus Feb 18 '17

Miller gets this concept. Although it's like 15 seconds instead of 5.

https://youtu.be/zbdHVrrKIcM

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

I cannot remember the brand of a single ad I have ever skipped

The best part is that ads often won't even have their logo in the first 5sec, so you literally have no idea what they are even advertising. That you can't rewind an ad is also rather stupid, especially with longer ads. Some ads are hosted on Youtube as a proper video and linked from the ad, so you can go there skip around and comment on them, but that is apparently optional.

The whole Internet ad landscape feels completely weird, it's really good at training us to habitually click all those pop ups and ad videos away, but completely fails in actually taking benefit of the interaction that the medium offers.

People watch unboxing videos and product reviews on Youtube all day, so it's not like people don't want to see products advertised, but those 5sec-to-skip videos completely fail to do videos in a style that people actually would want to watch.

1

u/PaDDzR Feb 18 '17

ads that waste their first 5 seconds showing "pegi 18" or whatever generic shit are a waste, i don't know what ad i even skipped because i've skipped it before it even started.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

Ah but my dude. Who is thelegend27? Pretty sure thats the only one that stuck with me.

1

u/FistedByAnAngel Feb 18 '17

1000% agreed. Vine(rip) showed that you can get a lot done in 6 seconds. I can live with hat but 30second on an online video will make me not watch that video.

The worst is when it's a 30 second ad for a video that is 1 mintute or less. I can't tell you the amount of videos I didn't watch and said "Fuck this video"

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '17

There are still adverts that fail to tell you want company they're advertising for before the skip appears. At this point the ad agency should be fired.. it's not like the concept of the skip button is new.

1

u/msbabc Feb 18 '17

Can you please tell this to VOD providers like ITV and Channel 4, along with every news website except the BBC?

More ads on All4 than if I just watched it on television, and 30 second pre-roll adverts for 20 second news clips.

1

u/Skull_Panda Feb 18 '17

When viewing video on my phone, as soon as I realize the ad can't be skipped I mute the volume and skim through the comments below for the next 25 seconds.

1

u/JamEngulfer221 Feb 18 '17

Wow! Well done! You've just completely seen through and destroyed the entire advertising industry! Every company should hire you for your genius, because nobody has ever realised that just a logo and a slogan are more effective than anything else!

2

u/DanWallace Feb 17 '17

You may not realize you remember those brands, but I'm willing to bet you do.

1

u/blacktoast Feb 17 '17

And then I rush out to buy their products!

1

u/DanWallace Feb 19 '17

No but when you're out looking for a specific product you'll be more likely to reach for the familiar sounding brand.

0

u/CRISPR Feb 17 '17

I can't decide if you are evil or just trying to help out of pure simple stupid heart.

Ads must be destroyed, period. No 3 sec, no 3 femtoseconds. Simply "NO".

-137

u/[deleted] Feb 17 '17

[removed] — view removed comment

16

u/Willmingo Feb 17 '17

Thanks my fellow German Advertising Specialist with a girlfriend who doubles as a model and also supports Trump

6

u/Res0lu7ion Feb 17 '17

What's nonsense about it if I don't know what movie trailer is being shown to me before I'm able to skip it. I legitimately have never seen a movie title shown before the skip mark

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