Dubbed D30 -- short for Digital 30 -- the platform is slated to launch this summer, and helps advertisers more effectively distribute their existing 15- or 30-second spots across premium sites by delivering video ads in overlays served on top of site pages.

"We're marrying what has traditionally been the most scalable and sell-able of offline ad units -- the 30 second spot -- with online Web sites," said David Payne, co-founder and CEO of ShortTail Media. To provide reach and engagement reporting, the platform incorporates Visible Measures' video measurement technologies. Partner publishers and advertisers have yet to be announced.

"This is the first broad-scale platform to offer easy integration of high-quality video ads into premium, non-video environments," said Bob Keyser, SVP of Schematic.

"By requiring a minimum 10-second view of the spot, the D30 delivers a higher rate of viewer engagement than standard display ads that are often skipped or overlooked," Keyser added.

But Keyser and Payne -- former SVP and general manager of CNN.com -- are not the only executives out to reshape online video advertising.

Tracey Scheppach, SVP and Video Innovation Director at Starcom USA, is credited with conceiving of "The Pool" -- a more consumer-friendly replacement for the standard pre-roll ad unit, which is expected to debut next February.

Last November, Publicis' VivaKi unit -- headed by Curt Hecht, president of VivaKi's Nerve Center -- brought together top online video suppliers (AOL, Broadband Enterprises, CBS, Discovery, Hulu, Microsoft and Yahoo) -- along with a half dozen major marketers -- to develop The Pool.

Advertisers that are participating in the initiative -- all clients of Publicis agencies -- include Allstate, Applebee's, Capital One, Nestle and Purina, each of which has been guaranteed rights to purchase the first new inventory that will be made available with the new format.

Headquartered in New York and Atlanta, ShortTail Media is a privately held company.