If you thought Yahoo pushed their advertising a bit too far with at least four ads at the top of their search results, then they have just taken ad obnoxiousness in the search results to a whole new level. Yahoo is testing a full-screen size image ad in their search results, which transitions to a full-screen autoplay video.
Here is how it initially looks on the page – you can see the “web” part at the top of the search results hiding just underneath the top of the image.
It appears to be fixed-width based on the browser window. When it starts playing the video – which is fortunately muted at the start – you must actually scroll down below the screen to find the video controls in order to stop or pause it depending on the size of your screen. The video itself is 16 seconds long.
Here is what you see after you scroll down.
You can see the ad copy at the end, with the URL and a “Learn More” box to click.
The ad is being shown to US users on Yahoo Search right now. The search query was “Lands End” although it is also showing up for other Lands End related queries.
This is a whole new level for in-your-face advertising on organic search results from a major search engine. It also shows the desperation from Yahoo’s revenue perspective if they are willing to use a full page ad on their search results page. But it does also mean Yahoo is making a big push for some of the in demand video ad dollars too.
It also makes one wonder about their fight over market share. Yahoo has been really pushing to increase their market share over the past year or so, but you do have to wonder if this move will start alienating those hard-fought searchers who might jump ship to Google or Bing as a result.
H/T to Glenn Gabe for spotting the ad, as well as for the screenshots.
Jennifer Slegg
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