AOL rolled out video ticker ads today, which could lower the obnoxious factor of video advertising on the internet.
The ads, which were developed with PointRoll, serve as an alternative to pre-roll video ads (the annoying commercials you have to sit through to watch TV shows online).
They work like this: If you're watching a TV show, about 10 seconds into the video, a banner ad pops up at the bottom of the window. If you want to watch the full video advertisement – or it could be a Flash ad – you click on the banner. Assuming you don't want to watch it, you ignore it, and after 15 seconds, it dissolves.
The ticker doesn't sound so different from graphics the networks run at the bottom of the TV screen to promote other shows.
