Facebook has announced it has started rolling out video ads into everyone's news feed following several months of testing.
In a blog post, the social network said 15-second video ads will begin appearing in feeds over the coming months. Luckily, the video advertisements won't be a blaring, unavoidable experience.
Facebook detailed that the ads will play automatically as they appear on the screen, but they will be without sound and stop once people scroll past.
Interested social media browsers can click on the window to expand the video into full screen, sound and all.
Going hands off
The ads may be an unwelcome intrusion to some, but Facebook is trying to make them as innocuous as possible. The sponsored vids will run for only a short time and for targeted audiences.
Facebook also plans to distance itself from how the ads will be priced. Instead of pricing them directly, an independent third party will set the rates for sponsored slots.
The company said it will work with Ace Metrix, a television and video analytics firm, to assess the "creative quality" of the ads. Together, they will judge "creativity" based on "watchability, meaningfulness and emotional resonance" of each promotional clip.
Facebook might be slightly off its rocker thinking advertisements can be as good as a Scorsese film, but hopefully this means we will never see a simple infomercial pop up right next to our cat photos.
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