CTV · · 4 min read

⏸️ Pause Ads

I'm back from CES, where (and I can't believe I'm saying this) pause ads were having a moment. I did not have this one on my bingo card. Yes, those ads that pop up when you hit pause on your TV.

Pause Ads + Money graphic with the ADLINGO logo.

You thought that we put pause ads out to pasture back in 2012, along with ASq and companion banners? I certainly thought we had. Turns out we were both misinformed.

What started as a ReplayTV patent in 2001 recently evolved into one of the hottest ad formats in streaming, with recall rates 2.5 times higher than standard ads and inventory that keeps selling out.

Today's story of pause ads isn't about the tech. The tech is both simple but elegant in its boringness. The story is about finding the right moment for an innovation that was decades ahead of its time.

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