• by Masha Geller , June 25, 2003

Over the years, there haven't been many online ad formats that have not annoyed me. As with most Internet users, pop-ups and pop-unders top my list of grievances (although I've gotten so good at zapping them before they have a chance to open they're becoming less of an issue), followed by anything that blocks (like those mouse-over banners) or in any way interrupts or distracts me from what I'm doing online (things that fly and/or make any kind of noise, among others, fit into this category.)

Believe it or not, however, I've found an ad format I really like. The Intro-mercial.

Some of the best content sites on the Web have tested these ads over the last few months with great results, including Forbes.com, Washingtonpost.com, and CNET, but I think CBS MarketWatch offers the best execution.

Intromercials are the ads that play when a user first comes to the site, before the front page loads. They play for 10 seconds, feature a "skip" and a "mute" button and have a frequency cap of 1, so the user only has to watch it on the first visit of the day. I hope I speak for most web users when I say 10 seconds of my time once a day with an option to skip or mute the ad is an acceptable price to pay for free access to a site like CBS MW.

Additionally, the creative tends to take advantage of the currently available rich media technologies and the full-page canvas, the combination of which makes these ads actually fun to watch even over a narrowband connection (here are some examples.)

And most importantly, intromercials deliver 5 to 10 times better response rates than banner ads, which justifies the premium pricing, and publishers are very selective about which advertisers are allowed to play so as not to cheapen the site's own brand.

I'm guessing it won't be long before all major publishers start offering intromercials and if they all stick to the parameters CBS MW has established (no more than 10 seconds once a day), I'm actually looking forward to reporting on the success stories.