I Wanna Be A Producer!
So it goes with every social video platform.
First, users start posting their own raw, unfiltered content. Then, advertisers jump in with content that looks like what users are posting. Finally, somebody with production experience gets involved, and the ads start looking like actual ads again.
This dynamic has been playing out on TikTok, Ad Age reports. Companies are now leaning toward slick, scripted video series for their ad campaigns developed by agency partners or in-house production teams.
The thinking, one source explained, is that higher-quality content can serve as counterprogramming to the “brain-rot-ification of social,” and feels less reactionary than chasing the latest memes and trends.
In some ways, it’s reminiscent of when companies would simply cut down their TV ad creative to use on social media. Except this time, the content is being shot in the vertical 9:16 TikTok format and cross-posted to other social platforms from there.
On the plus side, TikTok ads are still cheaper than a traditional linear spot. And if you’re smart, like beauty brand Tower 28, and you hire an entire army of YouTube-famous comedy talent from a studio like Smosh, it doubles as influencer marketing. Win-win, right?
OpenAI For Business
If (let’s be real, when) OpenAI finally decides to let advertisers in, don’t expect its ad formats to be “traditional.”
In an interview with analyst Ben Thompson at Stratechery (pronounced like “strategy plus tech,” NOT like the parody George W. Bush quote), OpenAI CEO Sam Altman spoke about current challenges facing the company, especially its transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit organization.
Altman noted that ads are low on OpenAI’s list of possible monetization strategies and that he likes the company’s current business model. But hey, who knows what’ll happen down the line?
For example, Altman brought up Deep Research, a new agentic research assistant tool within ChatGPT. While he insists that OpenAI will never charge advertisers for placements, he suggested that maybe purchases made directly through the Deep Research product could include affiliate fees.
“Maybe there’s a tasteful way we can do ads, but I don’t know. I kind of just don’t like ads that much,” he told Thompson.
But, Thompson rightly points out, neither did Mark Zuckerberg, and look at how Facebook – and indeed, all of Meta – makes the lion’s share of its revenue today. So maybe it’s only a matter of time before ChatGPT starts recommending sponsored products to its users.
Nothing Ad-Free Can Stay
Speaking of the irresistible allure of advertising, ad-averse platforms always seem to change their tune when it’s time to go public.
Case in point: Messaging and streaming platform Discord is expanding third-party video ads to its mobile app starting in June, Ars Technica reports. The platform had previously rolled out ads on its desktop and console apps last March before later launching video ads on those properties.
Prior to that, Discord was monetized solely through subscriptions and premium add-ons, such as avatar decorations and special effects for user profiles. CEO Jason Citron decried advertising as intrusive and cited consumer concerns about sharing data with marketers.
But now Discord is striking a different chord. Its embrace of advertising is a way for the company, which reportedly is not profitable, to tap new revenue streams ahead of a rumored IPO.
Discord isn’t the only previously ad-avoidant social platform to change its strategy before going public.
Reddit also held off on ramping up its ad load out of deference to its anti-ad user base – that is, until the company needed to demonstrate profitability to its shareholders. In the year since it went public in March 2024, Reddit has hyped advertising as its main growth driver and expanded ad inventory across its platform – much to the chagrin of Redditors.
But Wait! There’s More
Former Kubient CEO Paul Roberts was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for securities fraud. [DOJ]
The Advertising Standards Authority, a UK-based watchdog group, calls out “shocking” and misogynistic ad content found in mobile gaming apps. [The Guardian]
Chinese retail powerhouse (and big online advertising spender) Temu posted its slowest revenue growth in years. [WSJ]
Does AI actually benefit productivity or is its impact too hard to measure? [Bloomberg]
Meta AI is finally coming to Europe this week. [Engadget]
ESPN’s interest in acquiring NFL Media is reportedly heating up, with ESPN potentially considering a $2 billion deal that would give the NFL an ownership stake in the network. [Marchand Sports Media]
The European Commission has found that Apple and Google violated the Digital Markets Act and offers guidance for curing anticompetitive practices before fines are levied. [NYT]
Here’s a searchable database of LibGen, the library of pirated works Meta and OpenAI used to train their AI models. [The Atlantic]
Google pays $28 million to settle a class action lawsuit claiming it favored white and Asian employees. [The Guardian]
Klarna, en route to an IPO, lands a deal with DoorDash that will allow consumers to pay for meals and groceries in installments. [NBC News]
You’re Hired
Cadent + AdTheorent names Doug Rozen as president and Jeff Driskill as CFO. [Yahoo Finance]
