Instagram rolls out 60-second video ads

PanARMENIAN.Net - Instagram on Thursday, February 4 announced that it began running its first 60-second video ads, starting with T-Mobile and Warner Brothers, TechCrunch reports.

Until now, the maximum length for video ads was 30 seconds, already longer than the 15-second videos users are allowed to post.

Instagram said: “We recognize that advertisers have a variety of creative resources and want to bring more choice to help them reach their business goals.”

One of the first of these ads is T-Mobile’s extension of its 30-second Super Bowl commercial starring musician Drake. T-Mobile is now running a special, 60-second version with extra scenes on Instagram now. Warner Brothers will run a 60-second Instagram ad for its new film “How To Be Single.”

With 400 million active users, Facebook is finally getting serious about monetizing Instagram. In September, it began selling ads in 30 more countries, introduced Marquee ads that let brands own a moment with a huge ad blitz, and began offering 30-second video ads.

Essentially, Instagram wants to be able to absorb the shift in ad spend from television to digital. To do that, it can’t force advertisers into proprietary formats and lengths. Otherwise, the requirement to produce special ads just for Instagram could discourage them from running campaigns there. That was the logic behind allowing advertisers to post landscape format clips that are the same shape as the TV ads brands already shoot.