The first video adverts appeared in a magazine in the US this week as Entertainment Weekly trialled a new insert in their latest issue. The video adverts run on LCD screens which support a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. The chips inside can store up to 40 minutes of footage and last for around 70 minutes. Bizarrely they can be recharged via mini-USB but why would you recharge a magazine advert? They also have built in speakers so the ads can assault your ears as well as your eyes.

The first two advertisers to jump onboard were CBS and Pepsi. CBS ran trailers for their network and Pepsi ran an ad for Pepsi Max. CBS and Pepsi have also shouldered the drastically increased cost of the magazines which is estimated to be around $20 per copy. The Entertainment Weekly issue with the ads was understandably given a limited run. It was delivered to a small group of subscribers in Los Angeles and New York but they’ll have to watch a lot of CBS while drinking loads of Pepsi Max for the advertisers to make their money back, having said that, the free publicity generated by putting these video ads out will have been massive. The long term benefits for advertisers versus cost don’t seem obvious.

The major criticism of this move, apart from the fact it takes us a step closer to being constantly subjected to adverts, is that video ads in text are already working well on the web. Web based video advertising has advanced in recent years and it is comparatively cheap and efficient. The waste involved in the putting video ads in magazines is deplorable. Not to mention the fact that advertising is extremely annoying, a complete waste of time and resource and counter productive to the progress of humanity in general.

The funny thing is they look awful and the insert makes the magazine heavy and ridiculously thick. You can check out a video of the ad in action at the BBC website.