

Google Unveils a Tool to Check If Users Are Looking at Video Ads - sidcool
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-06/google-unveils-a-tool-to-check-if-users-are-looking-at-video-ads.html?cmpid=hackernews

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coding4all
Thank god for Minitube [1] and youtube-dl [2] . youtube-dl can download videos
from not only YouTube, but over 500 different services.

[1] [http://flavio.tordini.org/minitube](http://flavio.tordini.org/minitube)

[2] [https://rg3.github.io/youtube-dl/](https://rg3.github.io/youtube-dl/)

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shultays
Install adblock, it blocks youtube video ads too

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mattmanser
4OD, channel 4's on demand service in the UK, now detects if you're running
adblock and prevents you from playing the video unless you disable it.

This will soon be common to all as based services.

~~~
phatfish
4OD also serves ridiculous 2 minuet broadcast TV style blocks of Ads. This is
why everyone runs AdBlock on their site, and why they fight a loosing battle
to try a force people to view them.

Youtube adverts are tolerable, and sometimes i even watch past the 5 second
skip if it is funny or interesting. 4OD ads get blocked outright.

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soneil
Seems to be attacking the wrong issue.

Love it or loath it, AdWords does seem to actually work. I usually get a
fairly high percentage of advertising targetted towards my interests. The most
common way it goes wrong is when it continues to show me adverts for something
I've already purchased.

But video ads? I get: A lot of adverts for trading platforms. I have no idea
why. A lot of french adverts at work - because our connection surfaces there.
However, I'm logged into my account, in English, I see no reason it shouldn't
know better.

Youtube seems to have perfected the art of showing me adverts I'm not, and
will never be interested in. Whether they have my attention or not is
irrelevant.

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anigbrowl
I allow Google to show me its own ads, which are strongly graphically
constrained compared to regular web advertising. But video ads are just
insufferably obnoxious.

~~~
john2x
The worst thing about video ads is the bandwidth wasted on them. Especially in
a country with not-so-good internet, those seconds wasted on video ads are
precious.

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Methusalah
It also drives me crazy when they play an ad before you can watch what is
effectively an ad that you chose to watch (trailers, previews, etc.)

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DanBC
I am ad-tolerant.

I find YouTube ads to be just weird and annoying.

i) I get gambling ads. This is a sleazy destructive industry and people should
have to opt-in to receive ads for gambling products. (Ditto alcohol).

ii) I will queue up some obviously children's content for my son but get an
adult's ad (eg ads for violent film) before that. This is fuckig stupid and
it's disappointing that Google gets this wrong.

iii) I'll go to watch a 30 minute video but get a 5 minute ad. (Or maybe 3
minutes?) I should start making a list of the company names that do it.

iv) a lot of the ads are just _terrible_

Google really needs to implement some controls so people can avoid alcohol and
gambling ads.

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unbeli
Why is it just alcohol and gambling and not, say, cat food and toothbrushes? I
understand you don't like alcohol and gambling, but how do you derive that
_others_ should be prevented from seeing what _you_ don't like?

~~~
majestic1211
Because alcohol and gambling tend to be more addictive than cat food and
toothbrushes.

It is not a good idea to force an ad for beer on an ex-alcoholic/someone
trying to stop alcohol, for example.

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NZ_Matt
Facebook has a simple but clever way of tracking who is engaged with their
video advertisements. Video ads auto play in the background without audio, the
user has to click on the video to get audio. Presumably they're then able to
track engagement by the number of users who specifically choose to watch the
video with audio..

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chii
and in the process suck down a bunch of wasted bandwidth. I hate it when a
site auto-plays any video (or long audio), since i want to choose to not
expend the bandwidth, but the choice is taken away from me.

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CaveTech
[https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=videos](https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=videos)

Auto-Play Videos >> "Off"

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jmnicolas
How about they start producing interesting content (emphasis on interesting)
with a bit of product placement inside ?

I don't want to watch 30s of publicity for something I don't like and will
never buy (and it could even make hate the brand). But if you insert in the
video non obnoxious product placement I can live with it.

Example : I watched a cooking recipe yesterday. The cook emphasized 2 or 3
times the brand of flour he was using and that's it. I understand he needs to
make a living (he's a pro, not a home cook) he was not obnoxious about it, I'm
OK with that. I even have a more positive view of the brand he was advocating
since they are clever about their publicity.

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gergo_v
The problem with that, and "native" advertising in general is that it's a form
of affiliate marketing, where the brand has little to no control over how
obnoxious and spammed the delivery will be.

Not to mention the fact that brand advertisers are really picky on where they
are being promoted. They're dipping their toes in real time bidding platforms,
but that's a whole different beast to tackle.

~~~
pdkl95
While non-disclosed "native" advertising is dangerously close to "fraud" and
is only going to hurt brands in the long run, properly disclosed "sponsors" or
"affiliates" can be one of the _best_ forms of advertising. It takes a skilled
marketer and there is always risk, but the potential are also large.

If I already watch somebody like the professional chef, their opinions of
various related brands (such as flour) may also be valuable. I don't have to
_like_ their opinion - they just have to have a consistent-enough history[1].
IN the case of the chef mentioning a particular brand of flour, the fact that
the _chef_ agreed to advertise for that brand (the risk goes both ways[2]) can
act as a filter or heuristic.

I don't think this is the kind of relationship that can be easily automated. A
"real time bidding platform" misses the benefits entirely - if there is
filter-effect, you are left with only the annoying (and brand-damaging) parts.

[1] (
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm-3GJsr8Xw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm-3GJsr8Xw)
) TotalBiscuit gave a great monologue on this subject somewhat recently. While
he focuses on video game reviews (vs "demos", vs "personal
opinions/editorials"), the ideas presented apply generally. (the video track
in this link can be safely ignored)

[2] In addition to the business risking a bad delivery, the chef risks his own
reputation (and audience) if that brand of flower ends up being hated. If the
audience starts to see the chef a merely a shill for various brands, the
audience can suddenly turn against everybody involved.

edit: fixed the URL - apparently TotalBiscuit now has more than one video
about review/marketing/etc.

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huhtenberg
This is a remarkably useless metric. The only reason anyone wouldn't skip an
ad is when they are not looking at the screen, which is an inherently random
event. Fine tuning an ad campaign based on this doesn't make much sense, does
it?

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nkangoh
Anyone watch Black Mirror? Remember 15 Million Merits? Heh...

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mrweasel
I actually think this is a good thing. I expect videos ads to disappear in the
following year, assuming that Google tool works.

People would need to react much different that I suspect if the result isn't
that less than 10% actually view videos ads. Even my four year old nephew
knows how to skip a video ads. Either video ads need to be cheaper than dirt
or I'm have to be way of the make the economy work.

With the exception of ads on search engines and a few highly targeted sites, I
don't see ads (not just video) as a viable way of financing a service. It must
be working for site like Youtube and Facebook of cause, I just don't know how,
it's a complete mystery.

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j_lev
Simplest way to check whether people are looking at the ads is to make them
all "skip to video in x seconds" ads, and then monitor for users who machine-
gun said Skip button.

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aluhut
Don't they have that already? I see it in the App but never seen it on my PC
because of µBlock.

Oh yeah, I hate them. Always to loud. Always unwanted. I'll find a way to
block it on my phone too.

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shitlord
I think this might be an effective response to AdBlock. It seems like death by
1000 cuts.

If ad blockers don't work on YouTube, then the average person won't bother to
use them (because they won't be bothered to configure them). Videos are
everywhere, and networks have improved to the point where you can reliably
stream them from a mobile device. Is this the beginning of video ads plastered
all over the web? Or is this just going to make YouTube more annoying?

~~~
nostromo
I think this is unrelated to AdBlock. It seems to be only about how many users
click the "skip" button on YouTube ads.

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AdamTReineke
I can't believe they weren't already reporting that. If I was an advertiser,
I'd want to know how many people were skipping my ad and their demographics so
I could stop targeting that segment -- or change my ads to reach that group
better.

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blueskin_
I wonder if this detects who uses Adblock Edge.

>“Video is the preferred means by which brand advertisers connect with their
consumers,” Mohan said. “It’s a way to make them sort of laugh, make them
think, have them make that emotional connection.”

pfffft. Sounds funny, since everyone I've ever heard anything about them from
hates video ads like nothing else.

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sidcool
I think detecting Ctrl+Tab or Alt+Tab is a good enough ballpark way of
detecting if users are viewing a video ad.

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pestaa
I always stay on tab to optimize for clicking Skip as soon as possible.

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toothbrush
I don't want to be inflammatory, really, but i'm actually quite surprised that
quite a few people on HN don't "own their box", so to speak (i'm referring to
the people who are prepared to waste time staring at a button until it says
"skip"). One aspect of this would be doing whatever is necessary to get their
box not to do unwanted stuff like playing ads.

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pestaa
Nowhere I mentioned it was on my box. Looking at a 5-sec portion of an ad is
part of the deal when you listen to music on Youtube.

~~~
toothbrush
Not for me it isn't. I'm assuming it's your box which is decoding the ad and
playing it to you, hence my remark.

On the other hand, if you're referring to listening to Youtube on a friend's
box where you have no inclination to mess with things, consider my comment
invalid :)

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deong
I already have that tool on my system under the name /bin/false.

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jarcane
I think the most amusing detail of this story is that the stock plot shows a
12-point drop in Google's share price on the date of this story. There's even
a noticeable valley in the day chart right around the time this story came
out.

It's almost as if the investors are cottoning on to the storytime ...

