Revenge of the Pre-Roll: Why YouTube Ads Are Getting Good Again
Something very strange has happened to YouTube pre-roll ads.
They don’t suck.
Not all, of course. But lately, something has shifted. In between the expected crypto bros and hair loss miracle serums with dodgy production values, there’s something else slipping through. Beautifully crafted, oddly specific, sometimes self-aware ads. Ones that somehow know you’ve just watched three hours of barbell squat tutorials and now want to sell you boutique magnesium spray made in Taranaki.
This isn’t by accident. You can thank an unlikely combo of DTC marketers getting better, media strategists with actual taste, and creators stepping behind the camera. The best pre-rolls now feel like they were directed by someone who understands the medium and the viewer. They’re tight. Funny. They often skip traditional polish for TikTok-inspired realism. And they get to the point fast, because if you don’t hook in the first two seconds, you’re toast.
There’s a real opportunity here. We’ve spent years complaining that online video ads are either annoying or invisible. But craft is creeping back in. Not the over-engineered type from big adland pitch decks, but the kind made by someone who genuinely spent the weekend learning how to light a shot in their garage. Suddenly, the most interesting commercial work isn’t on TV or in glossy magazine spreads. It’s hijacking your attention for 7 seconds at a time, before you get back to watching DIY Japanese woodworking.
Keep an eye on the pre-roll. It just might be telling us where the real innovation in video advertising lives now.
They don’t suck.
Not all, of course. But lately, something has shifted. In between the expected crypto bros and hair loss miracle serums with dodgy production values, there’s something else slipping through. Beautifully crafted, oddly specific, sometimes self-aware ads. Ones that somehow know you’ve just watched three hours of barbell squat tutorials and now want to sell you boutique magnesium spray made in Taranaki.
This isn’t by accident. You can thank an unlikely combo of DTC marketers getting better, media strategists with actual taste, and creators stepping behind the camera. The best pre-rolls now feel like they were directed by someone who understands the medium and the viewer. They’re tight. Funny. They often skip traditional polish for TikTok-inspired realism. And they get to the point fast, because if you don’t hook in the first two seconds, you’re toast.
There’s a real opportunity here. We’ve spent years complaining that online video ads are either annoying or invisible. But craft is creeping back in. Not the over-engineered type from big adland pitch decks, but the kind made by someone who genuinely spent the weekend learning how to light a shot in their garage. Suddenly, the most interesting commercial work isn’t on TV or in glossy magazine spreads. It’s hijacking your attention for 7 seconds at a time, before you get back to watching DIY Japanese woodworking.
Keep an eye on the pre-roll. It just might be telling us where the real innovation in video advertising lives now.