When Rocketboom, a three-minute newscast on technology and culture, signed on to be distributed by blip.tv, blip developed the first clickable overlay ads on QuickTime versions of the show for Rocketboom’s sponsor, Comedy Central’s The Sarah Silverman Program.
“It’s important for a couple of reasons,” said Mike Hudack, blip’s CEO. “Blip focuses on serialized content on the web and a lot of people watch it in iTunes. They subscribe to it and it gets delivered in podcast, so a large percent of the viewers see it in QuickTime. If you sell overlays that only play in Flash, you only hit a percentage of the audience. Now you’re making everybody happy because you get an ad in front of the entire audience and people can click on it. If it’s not important, they can hide it which is important for the show’s creator and the viewer.”
Andrew Baron, founder of Rocketboom, said the sponsorship model is “a great system because we burn the sponsorship message into our master file and distribute across all platforms. Not just one Flash file, but all our files, everywhere, through our own site (iTunes, Facebook, YouTube, TiVo, etc.).”
The ads were sold to Comedy Central by Deep Focus/New York. Eric Druckenmiller, the agency’s media director, said QuickTime has a hard coded video delivery technology unlike Windows Media Player that makes it difficult to serve ads. “We figured out how to get the Flash overlay to exist in the QuickTime environment for the first time. So the ads are playing in the iTunes world, the coveted Apple platform.”
The two-week campaign, which ended Oct. 3, featured overlay ads to promote the second season of The Sarah Silverman Program.
Rocketboom was used because “its underground video has an irreverent quality to it, like Sarah Silverman,” Druckenmiller said. He noted blip.tv was a good place for the advertising for two reasons: “it mirrors the irreverence of the show and the ad delivery methodology of the overlays was the most effective way of reaching the audience.” He said overlays were preferable to pre-rolls and post-rolls and the ability to deliver them in QuickTime increased the views.
Hudack said blip.tv will play overlay ads in QuickTime again. “We’re talking to advertisers about using it in the future,” he said.
“Dune: Part Two,” “Wicked,” “The Wild Robot” and “Shลgun” Among Lumiere Award Winners
The Advanced Imaging Society has revealed the winners of the 2025 Lumiere Awards, recognizing outstanding creative and technical achievements in its 15th annual celebration. The awards honor the artists, engineers and innovators whose work continues to push the boundaries of storytelling and cinematic technology.
While the annual Lumiere Awards luncheon was scheduled to be celebrated at the Beverly Hills Hotel, once it became clear that the devastating Los Angeles fires were affecting not only the AIS community, but impacting so many in Southern California, the decision was made to announce and deliver the awards directly to the honorees, and to forgo the luncheon celebration. The Society has honored the results of this yearโs voting body and announced the 2025 Lumiere Award winners today, Feb. 7, the eventโs originally scheduled date.
AIS President Jim Chabin said, โOur hearts go out to everyone in our community impacted by these devastating fires. In recent weeks, weโve been deeply saddened to learn of friends and colleagues who have lost their homes and irreplaceable memories. Yet, amid this hardship, we have also been inspired by the incredible generosity of our members โ opening their homes, providing resources, and rallying together in support. This unwavering spirit of unity and compassion is a testament to the strength of our industry.โ
The Lumiere Awards recognize distinguished directors and professionals in film, television, and emerging media, voted for by members of the Hollywood creative and technology community. Technological advancements expand the possibilities of storytelling, and these awards celebrate their significance for all who love film and television. โOur awards have humorously been called the Oscars for... Read More