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Video Ads Are Coming to All Your Uber Apps | The Wall Street Journal (archive.today)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Archive Link from archive.today

Original link from The Wall Street Journal

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Video ads will run on the primary Uber app while users wait for their drivers to arrive and during their trips, said Mark Grether, vice president and general manager of Uber Technologies’ advertising division. They will also appear on tablets installed inside certain Uber cars.

The Uber Eats app will play video ads after customers place orders and continue until their deliveries arrive; Drizly will run them in search results on its app and website as well as other areas of the site.

Why do they think anyone will leave the app open after ordering, if it just plays ads nonstop? Is the idea that each time they load it to check their order status an ad starts playing?

Audio for ads on the company’s apps will be muted by default, while users will need to manually turn off the audio and display components of the in-ride tablets, according to Grether. Ad inventory will initially be sold directly to buyers in the form of brand takeover packages, with only one company’s ads running during any single ride or transaction.

In-car tablets with audio-enabled ads for a single company on repeat. Poor poor drivers.

I bet the first thing a driver will say once a patron gets in is "you can click this button right here to disable the ad (please please please)"

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

This is so egregious that it sounds like a scene from a cyberpunk movie. Almost humourously bizarre.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Wait, so there's ads playing in the car, but the driver doesn't get any extra revenue as a result? Why would the drivers even allow that? If I were a driver and was forced to install those tablets, I'd probably just unsolder the speaker.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Maybe they do get paid extra? I'm not sure.

Or maybe they'll prioritize drivers who have the advertising package. Wouldn't want riders to get an inferior (read: less ad-filled) experience, now would we?