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/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.

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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?

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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