There are 15-second ads wedged inside episodes of TV shows viewable online. There are pre-roll clips preceding videos. There are contextual ads appearing as links on videos of similar content. Sometimes you see links about where to buy a product seen on a video. Some sites have ads tucked away off to the side of the screen.

On the other hand, consumers are confused about ads accompanying those online videos. Online viewers are more impatient that TV show audiences, so they wish to see if the ad can be skipped.

To agree on a standard online video ad format, marketers, web publishers, and advertisers have signed on to a movement called the Pool. They aim to find out which online ads yield more results. Thirty different ads have been proposed. The Pool invited advertisers and asked them to vote on which ads they believe would work.

Since January 2009, the Pool has been testing five candidate formats. The winning format will be announced in February 2010. Right now, the pre-roll—a 15- to 30-second ad prior to a video’s playstart—seems to be the most cost-efficient format being used.

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