Snapchat plans to test unskippable six-second video ads

In its quest to turn a profit, Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. is looking for more ways to generate revenue while preventing users from defecting to other platforms. But Snapchat users may have to endure more ads in the process — and soon those ads will be ones that can’t be skipped.

Snapchat will start testing a six-second ad aptly called “Commercials,” Digiday reported. The test, scheduled to start in the middle of next month and which the company confirmed, will appear in some shows, but not in personal stories or the Discover news section. People familiar with the test told the publication that the move is an attempt to see how many ads users will tolerate. Commercials is expected to consist of high-quality ads from major companies, presumably with a hefty price tag attached.

But it’s been a rocky year for Snap, as it weathered severe backlash for its recent Snapchat redesign, disavowals from well-known celebrity influencers, and multiple rounds of layoffs. The company may soon have to add a general distaste for mandatory advertisements to that list, depending on how it designs and rolls out its Commercials platform.

Source: The Verge

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