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If you think the auto-play commercials on sites like ours are annoying, get ready to have it in your face times a billion: AdAge says video ads are hitting Facebook.
The transition, which AdAge’s anonymous industry sources say will begin in the first half of 2013, will stick video commercials in your browser, tablet, and phone. Annoying, right? But what could be even worse is that there’s no play button:
In what’s sure to be a controversial move, the visual component of the Facebook video ads will start playing automatically — a dynamic known as “autoplay” — according to two of the executives.
This means an ad for Bacardi (if you’re targeted as a drinker) will show up upon your arrival at The Book and start flashing without any intervention—”Facebook is still debating whether to have the audio component of the ads activated automatically as well,” says AdAge. That latter part seems unthinkable, given how universally-despised audio ads are. A total web faux pas. Unlike obscure, opaque image sub-licensing, automatically playing a cereal jingle when you go to Facebook seems like the kind of thing that actually drive people away from using Facebook. At least as regularly.
Yes, Facebook is free. And yes, ads on Facebook are only going to multiply and advance. But that doesn’t mean we can’t challenge auto-play video commercials with spontaneous sound as idiotic and obnoxious. But for now, this is just a rumor—keep your eyes and ears peeled. In the meantime, we’ve reached out to Facebook for comment. [AdAge]
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Adblock + flashblock + ghostery = FIXED
Ghostery? Need to go look that one up.
It blocks all the tracking doodahs and the ads that adblock misses, it does block a lot of the comment services (not giz) though and barclays online banking won’t work with it on but you can set exceptions easily enough.
I think I would honestly rather pay for facebook than put up with this. They ought to have that actually, a paid opt in add free version.
ad free*
With sound? OH HELL NO.
If Facebook does this I am GONEEEE!
Yeah, as soon as they get past my great firewall of adblock.
The solution:
1. Run Facebook in Chrome.
2. Install the F.B. Purity extension.
3. Block each and every element of Facebook, its advertisers and its users that you don’t like with the most minute level of control.
You’re welcome.
Solution: use Google+…
Solution: Don’t use Facebook
or use it with adblock etc
Turn volume down while reading posts? Use it on smartphone ad? Visit friend and talk to them? Are these too simple a solution?
Any tabs that start playing sound, without having been asked to, get instantly closed.
Local newspaper website is the main culprit!
I have the speaker on my computers muted at all times, just in case of shenanigans like this. That and the ‘error’ and ‘warning’ tones generated.
Thank the cosmic joker we don’t live in the future of Star Trek where EVERY touch, slide, keypress is accompanied by a feedback sound. Or the dodgy reality of TV shows where as lines of data appear on a monitor, the sound of a digital ticker tape is heard… O_o
Worst thing really is that they are planning to run them on mobile (even with your data limit). But they have kindly shortened them from 30 seconds to 15 seconds! Blink and you’ll miss it (nearly)!