CBS To Use Skin Format For Ads For New Online Show

CBS Plans To Use Skin Format For Ads On Its New Online Show

CBS, as part of a distribution deal to carry "The Burly Sports Show" on CBSSports.com, is planning to use the "skin format as the primary tool to sell ads next to the show," according to Emily Steel of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. About a year after they were introduced, video-ad formats called "bugs, tickers and skin" are
"jockeying to become the favorites among marketers." The skin format, in which the ad "appears in a graphic surrounding the window where the video plays, has been slower to gain momentum because it isn't widely available on top video sites." But with CBS' decision, the format is "about to get a lift." Marketers said that "each format has its pros and cons," but marketers "like skin ads because they can easily swap out ads to target certain groups of consumers." However, advertisers said that "because the skin ad appears in the background of a video, viewers can easily ignore them." Ad execs still are trying to "figure out how much to pay for an ad bug or an ad skin" and how to "gauge their effectiveness." Steel notes it is "unlikely a single video-ad format will be the winner. Rather, several are likely to predominate." However, Heavy, the company that produces "The Burly Sports Show," said that "skins are one of the most-effective forms of online-video ads." But CBS said that it "didn't decide to work with Heavy because of the skin ad; instead, it was attracted to the sports show" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/4).