Google has finally implemented Ads in YouTube videos – and by the looks of it, it’s very well done.
They’ve implemented an inline ad (perhaps using some flash), that appears near the bottom of the video. Clicking on it – it plays the video ad in a layer on top of the clip you are watching. You can then minimize it and get back to your normal video watching.

They also display the thumbnail and title of the ad along with the related videos at the end of the clip.

Here’s a video explaining the whole thing:

Since the Ads don’t take you away from the video – in most cases, it is going to be user initiated and once Google tweaks it sufficiently to display contextual ads…it’s going to be a real killer tool.
Multi-lingual contextual ads (eg: Bollywood songs) might take a little longer – but perhaps IP based generic ads (eBay, ICICI, FutureBazaar etc) could suffice in such cases.

Video viewing experience is not affected much – As a user, I wouldn’t mind seeing such Ads, as compared to a 30 second Ad clip before the video.

Via: Mashable, 45n5

Related Posts: 

MySpace launches YouTube Challenger
Insights into Video Consumption in India

Bookmark this post to: