YouTube first spoke about pause ads last year when it started trialing them in select regions. At the time, the company said that when you pause a video, it will shrink, and an ad will appear next to it.
“In Q1, we saw strong traction from the introduction of a pause ads pilot on connected TVs, a new non-interruptive ad format that appears when users pause their organic content,” Schindler noted. He went on to share that YouTube’s pause ads are “driving strong brand lift results” and “are commanding premium pricing from advertisers.”
Schindler didn’t share any timelines for when pause ads will start appearing on YouTube, but we know they’ll first roll out on smart TVs. The nature of these ads, including their duration, skippability, and more is still unclear. We also don’t know if Google plans to introduce these ads on YouTube’s mobile apps.
My Roku is doing this and has been doing this for quite some time.
Of all the ad delivery schemes cooked up over the past ten years, this one is the least offensive to me.
Like I'll come back from the bathroom or whatever, and all that registers before I hit play is that some random graphic is covering the screen while on pause. I cannot name a single thing that's been in any of those ads.
In general, I do wonder how effective this constant onslaught of marketing is. At some point there have got to be diminishing returns, right?
This is what I keep saying, and it is a question that bothers me and riles me up far more than it ever should. Like I and all of my friends and family have just learned to auto tune out ads at this point. We are so constantly drowned in ads everyday that now my brain just automatically filters them out as background noise. The few times one does slip through I completely forget about it 10 seconds later as it is lost in the whirlwind of fast paced chaotic life where I can't even remember if I ate breakfast that morning. Either that or it slips through because it is obnoxiously intrusive, in which case that product and company go on my shit list.
The only time an ad still works on me is if I am specifically looking for a product. In which case I still tune out 90% of targeted ads cause I know most of them are fake scams anyways. The other 10% I check user reviews from actual people to narrow down what I want.
I'm trained to distrust any ads now and even other posts about products online because everything online is either fake or a scam or both. Or the ads are for big brands that I already know exist and I know not to trust they're ads as well because they are so constantly in my face. Like I really don't need an ad to remind me that [major corporation brand] still exists, and I sure as shit ain't gonna have whatever stupid thing they suggest be my first option.
How tf are ads supposed to work when we are so desensitized to them?