Instagram has been slowly peppering your photo-feed with still image ads for about a year, and now the company is moving on to phase two: video ads. The Facebook-owned firm confirmed the news to Adweek on Thursday, revealing the first four commercials that will play on Instagram starting today. Just like with picture ads, Instagram says it will review every video ad before it goes live.
Instagram has been slooooowly phasing advertising into your main feed. First there were sponsored photos from brands like Michael Kors—artfully edited and filtered, of course. Now the photo-sharing app is introducing 15-second video ads, starting with a promo for Disney’s new animated film, “Big Hero 6.” Other brands you might see in your stream are Lancome, Banana Republic, the CW, and Activision, according to Adweek. Activision is pushing Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare in a 15-second clip, with a longer version of the promo hitting Facebook on Thursday. Lancome has a new perfume and mascara it plans to advertise on Instagram. Banana Republic’s ad is a time-lapse holiday preview.
