(Screenshot by me, not of me.)
I had a crazy case of insomnia last night. I was flitting around on YouTube when I saw this ad pop up over the video. Most in-video ads on YouTube are designed to be unobtrusive, scrolling up from the bottom and covering very little of the actual content.
But the headline, YOU CAN DISORIENT SPERM, RIGHT? right under this girl's face definitely caught my attention.
I'm not an avid YouTuber, so I'm unfamiliar with the ad/channel content regulation. In print, an advertiser can pull their ad dollars from a magazine if the ad is placed unfavorably - a Mexican tourism ad next to an article about a young blond being abducted in Mexico, for example. Likewise, an editor can pull an ad (though usually a costly decision) if she disapproves of the content.
But how much control does a YouTube content provider have on the type of ads that get overlaid on their videos? It's sort of a roundabout relationship, where it's unclear who owns the space, if you think about it. YouTube provides the platform for us to upload our content for free, or for a fee (for channel creation). We "allow" YouTube to run ads over our content. At the same time, the advertisers who are paying to run on the space want to match their ad with the right video content. In this case, the sperm ad is a Teva Woman's Health ad, which is very appropriately placed on a YouTube channel that talks about make up tutorials and relationship advice.
But something tells me that this girl doesn't want screen shots like the one above being seen. In the digital world where space ownership is blurred, where does the control lie?
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