Amazon hopes to get more marketers stuck on one of the most popular commercial formats in streaming: pause ads.
The company said Monday it would introduce artificial intelligence to help generate “pause ads” that can play off whatever program the viewer is watching. Imagine, for example, if someone watching a sad moment during a romantic comedy stopped the action and encountered an on-screen message for eye drops or tissues, or if a viewer in the middle of watching a high-speed car chase halted the stream and encountered a promotion from the manufacturer behind one of the vehicles.
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Amazon intends to build the new commercials using A.I. that can understand immediately what kind of show or movie is being watched and what attributes pertain to any scene on screen. The technology creates a “contextual advertising experience that dynamically aligns the ad message with the content viewers are watching – creating a natural and relevant connection,” says Alan Moss, Amazon’s vice president of global ad sales, in a statement. The hope is that subscribers will see the new pause-screen pitches as “extensions of the entertainment experience, not interruptions.”
Amazon declined to make executives available to elaborate on the concept.
Streamers have experimented with pause ads since 2018, with Hulu enlisting Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble to test a new commercial format that places promotions on screen whenever a user decides to halt the stream of a specific programming selection. The commercials represent a new way to get advertising in front of a consumer base that has grown weary of traditional commercial breaks, particularly because streaming services do not run as many pitches as linear TV.
Streaming executives see pauses as natural interruptions in the viewing experience, and are betting viewers won’t be upset by commercials that pop up on screen. Amazon in 2024 raided Disney to hire Jeremy Helfand, who helped launch pause ads at Hulu.
Many recent pause ads try to play off the decision to halt streaming a show. “Need a break?” asked one on-screen graphic from Procter & Gamble’s Charmin during a stop. The toilet paper’s colorful bear mascot then made an appearance. “Enjoy the go.” There are other ads with similar themes. One recent on-screen entreaty for Hershey’s Kit Kat showed one of the candy bars in pieces and said, “Have a break.” One from Berskhire Hathaway’s Geico told viewers to “Hold the phone.”
Different streaming services have tested the boundaries of what pause ads might do. Some keep the ad translucent and restrict how much of a screen is devoted to it. Others let the ad take up a full screen. As technology develops, there is hope the pause ads might move from being static to employing motion or animation. Some feature QR codes that can give users a chance to learn more details about a particular product or service.
Amazon’s new experiment may give pausing a new kick. Most of the current pause ads employ standard messaging that refers to the act of stopping, not the program or genre being watched.
There could be some awkward moments, too. What if Amazon’s A.I. comes up with something incorrect or offensive? Such a moment would grind use of the pause to a full stop.
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