Mystery Google ads to be flighted during Super Bowl. Consumers prefer shorter, less intrusive forms of online videos. Cannabis ad nearly makes it to Super Bowl. Sorrell pays back the money.
Google books mystery ads for Super Bowl Sunday
It’s Super Bowl weekend, and this means it’s talk about advertising for a week or two afterwards. Already, one of this year’s mystery is what Google is advertising… Holding company Alphabet has bought time for two full ads promoting its Google brand during Super Bowl LIII this Sunday, AdWeek has reported.
“Additionally, YouTube TV, another Alphabet brand, will sponsor the pre-game show on CBS and run two of its own ads during that portion of the broadcast,” it added.
For more, visit AdWeek here.
Short-form online video the way to go
Marketers agree consumers prefer shorter, less intrusive forms of online videos. This emerged from one of WARC’s Marketer’s Toolkit 2019 offerings, Being effective in short-form video. Short-form, it said was defined as content under 10 seconds in length.
The report added online video budgets were growing, particularly in the short-form space. It reported GroupM’s global head of social, Kieley Taylor, saying, “A general best practice for any social video asset is to be overtly branded from the beginning, to be as short as possible, and to not be reliant on sound”.
WARC said, “This trend is likely to fundamentally change the way that campaigns are planned, the report suggests, with some brands cutting back on the number of TV spots while others look to make their six-second online video ad the norm in TV spots”.
For the full story, visit WARC here.
Sir Martin Sorrell pays back the money… or some of it at least
It was a bad week at the office for former head of WPP, Sir Martin Sorrell, after the company asked to pay back the money, amounting to £170,000 in personal expenses. The Wall Street Journal reported that he’d charged for a ski trip, travel for his wife and child and items for an apartment in New York to WPP over a number of years.
The newspaper said Sorrell had paid this amount, but that WPP was wanted further reimbursement.
A WPP spokesperson told Campaign, “We can confirm that an amount has already been received and we have an ongoing dialogue regarding further sums.”
For more, check out the story on Marketing Interactive.
Cannabis-focused ad nearly screened at Super Bowl
The refusal by television network CBS to run a cannabis-focused investment firm’s ad advocating for the legalisation of medical cannabis during the Super Bowl was a victory, not a defeat, the founder of the Cannabis Marketing Association in the US told the Guardian. Lisa Buffo said the fact that an ad was even considered for the Super Bowl shows that the US had turned a corner.
The concern was that a cautious approach should be taken until marijuana was legal federally. At the moment, companies can only advertise in states that have legalised cannabis and they are bound by state and local regulations. “State and local authorities have imposed varying limitations, including on billboards in areas frequented by those under the age of 21,” The Guardian reported.
Cannabis is legal in some form in 33 states and two in three Americans are in support of legalisation, it said, which is why the industry has entered a new phase and has turned its attention to branding and marketing.
For the full story published by The Guardian, click here.
Hulu tests ads shown while programmes paused
How to advertise on streaming platforms is a puzzle brands, marketers and publishers are trying to solve. Now Hulu has come up with a plan.
The streaming company announced this week it would start showing ads when users paused a programme using static (not video) formats. The ad would also take up a small portion of the screen.
During the beta testing, Hulu will display Coca-Cola and Charmin toilet paper promos. Streaming service expects to have complete implementation by Q2 2019.
The whole story is on Tech Spot.
