YouTube Now Running Ads in Select Videos

Google’s YouTube property allegedly has begun running ads directly in its videos this week. I say allegedly because I spent 20 fruitless minutes this morning looking for one, viewing a dizzying array of Ford Model beauty tips and muscular videos about new BMWs and such.

I must be looking for video ad love in all the wrong places.

According to a blog post on YouTube, the ads began running Tuesday, which was the same day Google issued an apology and fix for pulling its download-to-own/download-to-rent feature so its engineers could go whole hog into figuring out how to monetize ad-supported videos.

YouTube is clearly a more natural testing ground for this than Google Video, given its popularity. No surprise Google is starting there. So, here’s the deal: Google’s YouTube unit is offering select partners the ability to place YouTube InVideo ads into their content.

These ads are supposedly “animated overlays that appear on the bottom 20 percent of the video.” That seems unobtrusive enough.

If users like the teaser, they can click on the overlay and view a full interactive video ad. This will pause the video you came to see in the first place. But if you don’t want to see the ad at all, don’t click on it and it will go away.

YouTube is asking us to keep an eye out for this feature and to send feedback. Roger that, when I actually find one of these mythical ads.

I’ve seen such ads before online (can’t remember off the top of my head), so that concept is not novel. But I remember not being annoyed. From what I recall, it’s just a suggestion of an ad. You aren’t forced to see the whole thing.

It’s a teaser in the vein of the ads I see on cable TV’s TNT. I’ll be watching a movie and an ad for “The Closer” pops up at the bottom of the screen. It never bothered me, but I was always aware of it.

Google-Tube may be on to something here but in the meatnime if anyone stumbles across an InVideo ad drop me a line in the comment section. I appreciate it. Thanks!