If you were looking for a signal flare to go up that YouTube would begin running pre- or post-roll ads on the videos put on its site this is it. Co-founder Chad Hurley says that the company will soon begin sharing revenue with its users. The article doesn't explicitly say that advertising will be added to the user-generated videos but it's not too far of a stretch.

The $1.65 billion that Google paid for YouTube back in November isn't going to last forever, especially not at the exponential rate videos are being added, and a lot of that money is going to have to go to pay for server space. In order to launch something like revenue sharing there needs to be sustainable income that exceeds operating expenses. So far I've seen nothing to indicate that the banner ads and such currently on the site are putting YouTube in that position.

As Rafat Ali at PaidContent points out, though, this is extremely tentative talk about something that might happen at some point maybe. Best to wait until something actually happens before devoting too many more brain-hours to this idea.

Here's something that might shock and dismay you all, unless of course you were paying attention. SpiralFrog, the service that was going to offer people free music downloads that were ad-supported, has run into some trouble. Its CEO was ousted last month, which is when it was supposed to have launched, and is now sending an attorney around to industry conferences and such. It has also failed to get buy in from two big music labels, Warner Music Group and Sony BMG.

Despite all that, the company still says it will eventually launch with music from EMI and Universal. It's just not sure when that's going to be. Rights and compensation issues are still being ironed out and it's unclear whether or not there's even a market for ad-supported music.

The promotional machine behind Epic Movie, yet another "comedy" that mines the pop culture of the last couple years for cheap laughs, is attempting to piggyback on the LonelyGirl15 phenomenon with a series of spoof videos on YouTube featuring Carmen Electra. If you love comedy, then I suggest you click here, stand up, walk out the door, and go to your local comedy club, 'cause Carmen ain't dat funny -- unless fake boobs are funny, which they're not unless you paint clown faces on them. That's just a suggestion if Carmen ever decides to get into stand-up comedy. Call me if you need a manager, C.

[via Best Week Ever]

Google has begun inserting video ads as post-roll spots on music videos from Warner Music and Sony BMG. This follows a successful test of the system involving MTV's websites. [via Fimoculous] That's going so well that it's decided to expand the system to even more publishers of its AdSense ads.

Google has announced that, even though YouTube results will show up in Google Video searches, the two operations will remain separate entities.

Some ad execs who are focused on branding campaigns say Google hinders their efforts by not allowing them to use third-party ad management software to structure their campaigns.

Yahoo will begin taking the efficiency of an ad at actually converting surfers into buyers when it places ads when it launches its new ranking model next month.

Finally, former WIN capo Jason Calacanis points to someone's fun mock up of how video ads might look if they started appearing in Google search results.

Wait a minute - what's this? Some Microsoft news? Oh-kaaaaay. The company, a perpetual third-place to the other two, has announced it's having far greater success with its display ads than search. This is shocking to whom, exactly?

The hell?

Is this a real commercial? It's from the 1980s, and it's an ad for something called "Synth coke," which seems to be like real cocaine, only not as expensive (but who knows if the effects were the same, better, or worse). The ad, which has all of the charm and production values of 80s porn movies, says that it's the way to a girl's heart (and other things) and that it can be found in "adult bookstores and boutiques throughout Manhattan."

I don't remember seeing this on VH-1's I Love The 80s.

[via Boing Boing]

Mitchum deodorant has created a fun and sexy site that tests to see whether you're manly enough to be a true Mitchum Man. Nina, the hostess on the site, quizzes you on things like you're perfect date, your ideal car and other such topics. If you answer in a manly enough fashion than she undresses slightly. Finally you get your man score as Nina ditches the sexy professional look and adopts the sexy school girl outfit. Go take the Man-o-Meter test yourself. You can also check out outtakes from Nina's video shoot after the jump.

Online ad revenue is gaining major credibility among newspapers who, just a few short years ago, had dismissed internet ads as an inconsequential part of their business model. Now, though, the power balance has shifted to the online world and newspapers are scrambling to keep up. A good number of publishers have joined with Yahoo in the creation of a shared network for the selling of classified and jobs ads. Separate from that, Tribune Co, McClatchy and Gannett have formed their own ad sales network, giving potential buyers one-stop access to all their online titles.

Unfortunately, says one analyst, the dollar amount that can be charged per online reader is miniscule compared to that for a print reader. That will lead to more staff cuts as papers optimize their manpower and declining operating income as the papers adjust to new economic realities. That disparity of ad income per reader will also have quit an impact when you consider many people are abandoning print versions altogether in favor or reading the paper online.

Revenue growth numbers continue to erode every year as it becomes clearer and clearer how much market share has been lost by papers. That might be turned around if the papers tap into what some say is the one remaining growth opportunity available to them, national advertising. The problem with executing on this is that without a network of papers that cross regional lines, national advertisers are reluctant to buy ads in local papers. That's where networks like the one setup by Gannett/Tribune/McClatchy may have an advantage.

Nielsen has released a report saying that, by putting their shows on the web and making them available for viewing there or on mobile devices, networks are allowing more people to watch those shows.

Can I get a "No s**t, Sherlock!" from the congregation!

Seriously, though, digital distribution is attractive to networks because they can either charge for the ad-free download or present online streams whose inserted ads can't be skipped or fast-forwarded through. Either of those are attractive options since ad-skipping on regular TV using DVRs is a major point of frustration for networks and advertisers alike.

It's not just the big-name console games that are cashing advertising revenue checks. Casual games, the kind you play at work when you're avoiding deadlines, are also seeing an influx of ad dollars. Almost 66 million people played some form of online game in December of last year alone, and those games are more popular overall with women than men. Since these games have broad appeal they're perfect for advertisers looking for a mass audience. Some companies, such as Big Fish, are even letting people choose which sponsor they see for a portion of their game-play time.

This sort of sponsored placement within existing games is separate from corporately created advergames, where the marketer creates a game specifically to promote a certain product or brand.

So many dumb moments in business, so little time. But Business 2.0 mag has their picks for the 101 dumbest of 2006.

Wal-Mart is #1, for hiring a big firm to create their "Candidate Wal-Mart" campaign. #2 is Northwest Airlines, for giving their employees a "How To Save Money" booklet after laying them off. #3 is the contest McDonald's held in Japan, with the winners getting free mp3 players with a virus on them. The rest of the top 10 are GM, Kazakhstan, Steve Wynn, The New York Times, Spirit Air, Porter County, and Comcast.

There are 101 in all, so grab a hot beverage and get comfortable. You can't see the entire list on one page, which is a little annoying, but there is a handy scroll function at the bottom.

You've seen the commercials: a guy puts on some Axe body spray and/or body wash and he goes from being a nebbish to being mobbed in a way somewhere between the way that the Beatles were mobbed by women in the 60s and a Caligula-era orgy. I was wondering: does this really work? Is there some ingredient in Axe that makes the ladies go crazy?

Short answer: no. Long answer: no.

I used the stuff last week for three days in a row. I used the body wash and also sprayed the stuff on, and in three different situations I was completely ignored by females. Unless you count the clerk at the supermarket asking me "Do you have your Shaw's card?" as foreplay. Same thing at Border's Books and Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Of course, I'm not saying the stuff doesn't work. Maybe I'm using it wrong?

While Eric van Miltenburg, GM of Yahoo's Newspaper Consortium Group, was mum on some aspects of the partnership he did confirm that Yahoo and its newspaper partners are discussing possibilities that exist around display ads. Specifically, the consortium, which started simply to shore of classifieds and jobs ads, has been discussing display ads as a potential expansion of the partnership. Under such a deal, Yahoo would be serving up the ads on the paper's sites but both parties would likely have the ability to cross-sell.

Display ads are often more sought after than text or search ads by marketers because they allow for a better branding opportunity. Companies who have been hesitant to dive into search ads may be more willing to buy display ads because it's a solid buy and not dependent on the number of searches and click-throughs.

Conde Nast is about to launch Flip, another corporate attempt at creating a walled-off social network that they control. This time the audience for said network is teenage girls. And the company isn't wasting time by launching the network first and finding a monetization scheme second. Right off the bat, girls will be given a good amount of control over what ads they're exposed to. When an account is setup, a member will be able to decide what sorts of banner ads they'll be exposed to. Marketers will also be providing non-branded images people can use on the site. So, as the article says, Nordstroms is providing images of models wearing their clothes but sans the Nordstrom logo.

Funny satire of Second Life, the game that is sweeping the nation (though I've never played it once, gone to any sites about it once, or read much about it). It's called Get A First Life, and there really isn't much to the site (no links to click, etc). It's more of a one page parody of the entire Second Life genre, how people can actually access the real world outside of their homes.

"First Life is a 3-D analog world where server lag does not exist."

"Fornicate using your actual genitals."

Ha! You can get T-shirts too.

[via Boing Boing]

I always thought that the term "Snow Fresh" was only used when someone was talking about peas, or a particularly randy comment by Frosty, but it was also once used when describing cigarettes.

In the old TV commercial for Kool cigarettes below, the guy tries to convince you that they are "as cool and as clean as a breath of fresh air," not a throat that's raw and smoky from too many cigarettes and too much coughing. It's amazing how many ads use ice and water and refreshing cool weather when trying to sell smokes.

The guy has a great "announcer" voice. I know I've heard it on many ads from that era. He probably got it from smoking.