YouTube to add non-skippable six second 'Bumper' ads to its mobile fare
If you love viewing YouTube videos on your mobile device, we have a bit of bad news. Today, YouTube announced today that some of its videos will include a six second 'Bumper ad' that will be unskippable. Actually, that is only one-second longer than the five-seconds that you are forced to wait before being allowed to skip longer ads on the platform. But when you're dying to watch a particular clip, one second can feel like a lifetime. And because these ads are unskippable, you're forced to watch them before your video begins.
YouTube compares the Bumper ads to little haikus, although you're more apt to consider them an annoyance. Still, with all of the free content available to watch on the video streamer, somebody's got to pay for upkeep and we're pretty sure that you don't want to be enlisted for that task.
"Recent research has shown that half of 18-49 year olds turn to their mobile device first to watch video. Even in the living room, many people prefer to watch on their smartphone – for the control, personalization and ease it offers. And as viewing habits change, we are working to introduce new formats adapted to these habits. That’s why today we’re announcing Bumper ads – a new six-second video format, sold through the AdWords auction on a CPM basis. Bumper ads are ideal for driving incremental reach and frequency, especially on mobile, where “snackable videos” perform well."-Google
You can check out a sample of a Bumper ad by clicking on the video at the top of this article.
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