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All statements about online advertising

121 statements about online advertising in 57 videos, by upload date.

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2009

  • 2009-04-12 · The Death of Youtube?? Redesign Coming — John says the site will emphasize TV shows, feature films and music videos not because people want to watch them but because advertisers want to advertise next to them. — 00:00:58
  • 2009-04-12 · The Death of Youtube?? Redesign Coming — John explains that huge audiences watch user-made clips like water-skiing squirrels for free, but advertisers such as Lucky Charms won't associate their brand with them, preferring shows like American Dad and Bones. (playful) — 00:01:32
  • 2009-04-12 · The Death of Youtube?? Redesign Coming — John finds it hard to be mad at YouTube for wanting to stop losing money, but is a little mad at advertisers for thinking user-generated content can't sell Lucky Charms. — 00:01:55
  • 2009-07-14 · Sell Outs! — John reports many Nerdfighters commented that almost all ads beside his Sunday video were for Scientology or mail-order brides. (playful) — 00:00:00
  • 2009-07-14 · Sell Outs! — John says ads on their videos have been hilarious or humiliating before, including one that seems to mock Hank and one selling a test to tell if your husband is gay. (playful) — 00:00:46
  • 2009-07-14 · Sell Outs! — John says the brothers do make money from advertising and from selling t-shirts. — 00:02:37
  • 2009-07-14 · Sell Outs! — John says YouTube can't survive without advertising, and as vlogging becomes more their job neither can they, since he assumes no one wants to pay for Vlogbrothers videos. (hedged) — 00:02:37
  • 2009-07-17 · Selling Out, Chewbacca and Taking Leave — Hank says there are two ways the brothers make money, advertisements and selling stuff, and he likes both because they let them spend more time making better videos. — 00:00:41
  • 2009-07-17 · Selling Out, Chewbacca and Taking Leave — Hank says the brothers have no control over, and don't even know, which advertisements viewers see beside their videos. — 00:01:03
  • 2009-07-17 · Selling Out, Chewbacca and Taking Leave — ask: Hank asks viewers to pause and leave a comment saying which advertisements they see, so the brothers know what is going on. (playful) — 00:01:25
  • 2009-07-17 · Selling Out, Chewbacca and Taking Leave — Hank says the brothers far prefer selling stuff to advertisements, which he feels are a little dirty. (hedged) — 00:01:25

2010

  • 2010-04-05 · Google in your Brain — Hank says Google has talent, money and strong incentives: understanding speech would let it run contextual ads on videos, and contextual ads are how Google makes all its money. — 00:01:27
  • 2010-06-07 · Viacom PWNED on Piracy — John says everybody agrees YouTube should pay Viacom that ad money; the dispute is the amount, YouTube valuing ads at their worth and Viacom as if money grew on trees. (playful) — 00:01:29

2011

  • 2011-03-25 (said on 2011-03-24, implied) · Hank is an Adorable, Drunk Princess — Hank tells John he is ashamed to make money from advertising, which he believes is a little bit evil, often there to lie to us and make us do things we otherwise wouldn't. — 00:01:59
  • 2011-03-25 (said on 2011-03-24, implied) · Hank is an Adorable, Drunk Princess — Hank adds that not all advertising is bad: sometimes we should do things we don't want to, and sometimes ads just shift spending from one thing to another. — 00:02:08
  • 2011-03-25 (said on 2011-03-24, implied) · Hank is an Adorable, Drunk Princess — Hank apologizes to Nerdfighteria but won't turn off ads, since otherwise he couldn't make the videos, and believes their entertainment outweighs the advertisers' damage to viewers' brains. — 00:02:21
  • 2011-03-25 (said on 2011-03-24, implied) · Hank is an Adorable, Drunk Princess — Hank mocks a Geico ad offering him 'up to 15% or more' off car insurance as the most non-specific statement possible. (playful) — 00:02:32
  • 2011-03-25 (said on 2011-03-24, implied) · Hank is an Adorable, Drunk Princess — Hank calls Toyota's new commercials very evil: a child shames his dad over an old car, implying a father should be ashamed of being poor or fiscally responsible. (playful) — 00:02:46

2012

  • 2012-01-06 · Kill your TV — Hank contrasts cable with Netflix: for $8 he gets some of the best television ever and never watches an ad because he pays, whereas cable charges and still shows ads. — 00:02:11
  • 2012-01-06 · Kill your TV — Hank says a 15-second pre-roll on a four-minute YouTube video is seven times less advertising than on television. (doubtful: 7 times less) — 00:02:39
  • 2012-01-06 · Kill your TV — Hank thinks online video is generally more engaging, more likely to be what you want, more convenient, a better interface, better for discovery and more rewarding. (hedged) — 00:02:47
  • 2012-05-22 · You ARE The Product — John believes the internet maxim: if you are not paying for a service, you are the product being sold. (hedged) — 00:00:44
  • 2012-05-22 · You ARE The Product — John explains that users' uploads draw other people in, who upload more and draw more, and that uploads tell Facebook what you are tempted to buy so it can encourage you. — 00:01:11
  • 2012-05-22 · You ARE The Product — John says people insist ads don't affect them and they get the better bargain, but that is what advertisers want them to think; corporations know well how ads change behavior. — 00:01:29
  • 2012-05-22 · You ARE The Product — John concludes that, almost by definition, advertisers buy you for less than you're worth, since many people work full time to make ads worth more than they cost. — 00:02:00
  • 2012-05-22 · You ARE The Product — John says corporations spent $498 billion on advertising last year (2011): half a trillion dollars says advertising affects behavior. — 00:02:05
  • 2012-05-22 · You ARE The Product — John says everyone using Facebook, Twitter, Google or Angry Birds has agreed to be commodified: not necessarily a bad decision, but one to make thoughtfully and consciously. — 00:02:15
  • 2012-05-22 · You ARE The Product — John says the brothers have never been totally comfortable with ads, but ads have seemed the best way to make what they like with people they like. — 00:02:27
  • 2012-05-22 · You ARE The Product — ask: John: Unsure, John asks Nerdfighters whether Chrysler, super PACs and scammy online dating sites should fund Nerdfighteria and whether to be okay with being the product, to discuss in comments. (hedged) — 00:02:33
  • 2012-05-25 · The Subway Where I Used To Go (Somebody That I Used To Know / Gotye Parody) — Hank says he doesn't like advertisements: he has seen too many Geico commercials that say nothing to believe ads aren't wheedling around in his brain, making him do things unknowingly. — 00:02:21
  • 2012-05-25 · The Subway Where I Used To Go (Somebody That I Used To Know / Gotye Parody) — Hank argues the internet is built on the idea that content should be free, which leaves advertising as the only model: a free YouTube that keeps its staff means looking at ads. — 00:02:33
  • 2012-05-25 · The Subway Where I Used To Go (Somebody That I Used To Know / Gotye Parody) — ask: Hank invites a conversation: if people want YouTube neither ad-supported nor free, or know a way to run an online company without auctioning users' psyches and habits, let's talk. — 00:02:45

2013

  • 2013-03-15 · Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes — ask: Hank asks designers to apply by email with DESIGN in the subject line and examples of websites and user interfaces they have designed, preferring an emphasis on user experience and simplicity. — video description
  • 2013-03-15 · Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes — announcement: Hank says the planned site will likely be built in Ruby and asks developers to tell him of their experience with APIs, payment handling and user databases. — video description
  • 2013-03-15 · Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes — ask: Hank asks people with unused domain names to say which they have and what, hopefully discounted, prices they would accept. — video description
  • 2013-03-15 · Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes — Hank objects that a project like the Brain Scoop, with 50,000 dedicated community members, still cannot pay for itself, because advertising is not the right model; he doesn't even like advertising. (hedged) — 00:02:40
  • 2013-03-15 · Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes — ask: Hank asks designers and developers to apply via a description link to work with him on a new model, and asks for short, snappy domain names. — 00:03:01
  • 2013-03-20 · Ads Work...but for Whom? — John says he and Hank are perhaps the only two people in Nerdfighteria bothered by advertising, but he is still bothered, so he makes the video for Hank. (playful) — 00:00:33
  • 2013-03-20 · Ads Work...but for Whom? — John says advertisers care who the viewer is (age, income) but not whether you watch a kitten riding a Roomba or MinutePhysics; they want you leaning back and enjoying yourself when their ad plays. — 00:00:47
  • 2013-03-20 · Ads Work...but for Whom? — John says the problem with advertising is that it incentivises the most views, not the best: it values YouTube communities for their size, not their passions or achievements. — 00:01:41
  • 2013-03-20 · Ads Work...but for Whom? — John wants a way to thank creators such as Ze Frank, Wheezy Waiter and Hannah Hart for making him "lean forward", and does not think advertising alone can do that. (hedged) — 00:03:38
  • 2013-03-22 · How Much is a Human Life Worth? — Hank says a 30-second TV ad costs about $24 per thousand viewers, i.e. $2.88 per hour of attention, about $2 million over a lifetime. — 00:01:10
  • 2013-03-22 · How Much is a Human Life Worth? — Hank says selling only waking hours to TV advertisers would give about $1.3 million, and online video ads can go for less than a tenth of that. — 00:01:25
  • 2013-03-22 · How Much is a Human Life Worth? — Hank says that besides being annoyed by pre-rolls, he and John avoid them because they undervalue this community's time; valuing it at a tenth of TV viewers' time is 'dumb'. — 00:01:37
  • 2013-05-24 · What's Up with Start Ups — Hank finds big tech's bidding war for his time weird and worrying, not because people shouldn't spend time online, but because savvy companies see value in being 'the lens' on his world. — 00:01:03
  • 2013-05-24 · What's Up with Start Ups — Hank says that is why Vlogbrothers has no pre-roll ads and why hard work making new things never gets old: they feel deeply indebted to viewers. — 00:02:31
  • 2013-05-28 · NERD FACTOR! (...And Why I Fear for Tumblr) — John: Responding to Hank's Tumblr and startups video, John thinks the underlying problem is that almost everything online depends on advertising, and advertisers are terrible at valuing the creator-viewer relationship. (hedged) — 00:00:16
  • 2013-05-28 · NERD FACTOR! (...And Why I Fear for Tumblr) — John says advertisers value the number of views over their quality: Thoughts From Places videos are the channel's least viewed, yet Nerdfighters say they are among their favourites. — 00:00:32
  • 2013-05-28 · NERD FACTOR! (...And Why I Fear for Tumblr) — ask: John asks Hank to fix this problem during his paternity leave. (playful) — 00:01:09
  • 2013-06-21 · New Channels, New Songs, and Just Plain News — Hank says he is working hard to solve the problem of advertising valuing distraction as much as or more than engagement, but it is taking time. — 00:01:22
  • 2013-07-26 · Introducing Subbable — The description says advertising does not care how viewers feel; the brothers fear distracting content will become the norm and loved content rare, and Subbable is their attempt to slow or stop that. (hedged) — video description
  • 2013-07-26 · Introducing Subbable — Hank says the problem, as someone on Twitter put it, is that advertisers value views, not viewers: they only care that you are watching, not how much you care. — 00:00:37
  • 2013-07-26 · Introducing Subbable — Hank says he cannot solve this alone; the advertising system is too ingrained for a technological solution, but 'we' might find a cultural one. (hedged) — 00:00:47
  • 2013-07-26 · Introducing Subbable — Hank says educational content cannot get the 'bajillion' views needed to pay for itself through advertising. (playful) — 00:01:58
  • 2013-07-26 · Introducing Subbable — Hank: Educating the world for free takes money; Hank thinks the cultural change will lead to much more engaging content that people love rather than merely distracting content. (hedged) — 00:02:22

2014

  • 2014-07-08 · The Future of Nerdfighteria — John: Five: vlogbrothers has never run pre-roll ads because the brothers find pre-rolls annoying; it has only display ads. — 00:01:59
  • 2014-07-08 · The Future of Nerdfighteria — John says pre-roll ads are about 99% of YouTube's revenue, and that with them vlogbrothers could earn five or six times what it does now (he can't give actual numbers). (hedged) — 00:02:08
  • 2014-07-15 · Exciting Announcements and Mosquito-Borne Illnesses — announcement: John reports that tens of thousands answered his question from last week (week of 7 July 2014); they voted overwhelmingly to turn on vlogbrothers pre-roll ads and split the income between the Foundation to Decrease World Suck and a fund for educational video projects. — 00:00:13
  • 2014-07-15 · Exciting Announcements and Mosquito-Borne Illnesses — announcement: John says the brothers will do what the vote decided and promises Nerdfighters updates on how the money is spent. — 00:00:25
  • 2014-09-19 · The Oculus Rift is Freakin Me Out — announcement: Hank says vlogbrothers has run pre-roll ads for over a month, building a pile of cash the brothers are distributing to awesome creators. — 00:03:22
  • 2014-10-14 · A Minor Crisis — John says the foundation now has about $45,000, partly from Nerdfighter projects like Nerdcrafteria (he says 'Minecrafteria') and more Vlogbrothers income - its best shape ever going into P4A. — 00:01:44
  • 2014-10-17 · MY FACE ON A BUS — Hank says the campaign is not about SciShow but about making YouTube seem legitimate to viewers and advertisers, welcoming more people and more money into the medium than ever before. — 00:02:47

2015

2016

2017

  • 2017-04-21 · The Adpocalypse: What it Means — The description says YouTube eased independent creators' path to revenue, but automatically sold ads have always been priced so only very large channels earn significantly. — video description
  • 2017-04-21 · The Adpocalypse: What it Means — Hank says each ad played on a YouTube video pays the creator about ten times less than the same ad on TV. (hedged) — 00:00:53
  • 2017-04-21 · The Adpocalypse: What it Means — Hank says ads are YouTube's whole business, worth billions of dollars, but precarious. — 00:01:24
  • 2017-04-21 · The Adpocalypse: What it Means — Hank says ads are just worth less online: people dislike, skip and block them; and while his eyeballs are worth less online, his time is worth more, since it is active time. — 00:01:31
  • 2017-05-16 · The Introducer, My Childhood Dream Job — John says documentaries are really hard to fund on advertising revenue alone, which is why so few are on free streaming services, at least legally. — 00:03:03
  • 2017-11-28 · Let's Talk about Money — announcement: John says that since 2014 all Vlogbrothers ad revenue has been split evenly between the Foundation to Decrease World Suck and a fund sponsoring online educational content. — 00:00:04
  • 2017-11-28 · Let's Talk about Money — John says he and Hank don't do this because they are noble but because they can afford to: they have other jobs that pay well. — 00:00:33
  • 2017-11-28 · Let's Talk about Money — John says that despite the so-called adpocalypse on YouTube and wider challenges for ad-funded parts of the internet, Vlogbrothers has had a really good year. — 00:00:56
  • 2017-12-26 · LEAVE IT IN 2017 — John: Social media feeds don't make you happier or better informed because they aren't trying to: algorithms are designed to maximize time on site and ad impressions, and do it very well. — 00:01:13

2018

  • 2018-01-09 · Your Attention — John says all these companies want as much of our attention as they can get because that is how they make money, which is what they exist to do. — 00:02:40
  • 2018-04-13 · Who is in Control? — Hank is deeply worried about computers getting good not just at serving content but at creating it; advertisers already work on this, and if it gets good at selling ideas, not just detergent, a new era of human history begins. — video description
  • 2018-04-13 · Who is in Control? — Hank: Fed enough data, machines infer shocking detail from tiny input and will use your worldview and emotional state to help paying others manipulate you; not a conspiracy, but their business model. — 00:02:27
  • 2018-04-13 · Who is in Control? — Hank: Facebook isn't the product being sold, since it is free: you are not the customer but the product, and on the social internet your attention is their dollars. — 00:02:43
  • 2018-07-03 · How Does This End? — John thinks YouTube faces big problems: it relies too much on flawed algorithms, and its monetization system often values advertisers over audience. (hedged) — 00:01:29
  • 2018-11-06 · Taking a Year Off — John's second problem: the companies running the social internet are incentivized not to give him accurate or helpful information but information that holds his attention on their platform while he ingests advertising. — 00:01:27

2019

  • 2019-03-08 · Does "The Press" Hate YouTube? — Hank says such stories make advertisers cut spending, YouTube then overreacts by strengthening demonetization algorithms, and even slightly controversial videos may earn nothing. — 00:00:42
  • 2019-03-08 · Does "The Press" Hate YouTube? — Hank says most ad buyers are likewise Wall Street Journal readers rather than MatPat viewers, though that might be changing. — 00:01:40
  • 2019-03-08 · Does "The Press" Hate YouTube? — Hank says the YouTube community has done great things, but culture hasn't figured out what to make of it, which might be why advertisers hesitate and why he wants journalists covering it. (hedged) — 00:03:08

2020

  • 2020-07-17 · So Much to See — Hank: In legacy media a few humans decide what gets made; there is less of that now, but advertisers still pay more for some audiences than others. — 00:01:59

2021

  • 2021-02-09 · Lesser Known YouTube Channels I Love — John: A chunk of Vlogbrothers ad revenue sponsors educational video projects, and John often discovers new favourite channels that way. — 00:00:56
  • 2021-08-17 · Who Owns Nerdfighteria? — John says the brothers' share also seems high, because the money belongs to Nerdfighteria, not to them; that is why half goes to grants for educational creators and half to charity. — 00:02:26
  • 2021-10-07 · We're Thinking About Facebook Wrong — Hank: The platform's incentive is to keep people on and sell more ads, so a feedback loop promotes righteously superior content, which more people make and consume, and groups then feel superior to each other. — 00:09:40

2022

2023

  • 2023-10-06 · I Quit — Hank says that for over ten years half of the Vlogbrothers channel's ad revenue has gone to grants for small educational internet creators, since getting started is harder than it used to be. — 00:07:20
  • 2023-10-06 · I Quit — Hank names past grant recipients: Alexis Nikole, Answer in Progress, The Financial Diet, Wendover Productions, Real Engineering, and Kurzgesagt in the first year. — 00:07:20
  • 2023-10-06 · I Quit — ask: Hank invites people making mostly long- or short-form educational video, or who know someone who is, to apply via the description link; grants are usually $1,000 to $3,000. — 00:07:58

2024

  • 2024-05-21 · Getting Personal about Getting Personal — John describes the basic press exchange: he uses a content machine that turns his life and stories into content to get people to see the movie, while the reporter turns life experiences and stories into content that generates subscriptions and ad revenue. — 00:00:13
  • 2024-11-01 · Working Through a Crisis with My Brother — ask: Hank asks for applications for the Vlogbrothers sponsorship: half of their money helps newer educational creators on any internet platform. — 00:00:29

2025

2026

  • 2026-01-02 · I Got a New Disease and I Kinda Liked It. — Hank thinks one reason Focus Friend won app of the year is that it has no ads, no data tracking and is free. — 00:04:50
  • 2026-05-29 · Chemo Cow Body Odor YouTube Helen Hunt Commute — Hank recalls YouTube going from no ads to sidebar ads to pre-roll ads; the brothers left pre-roll off for over a year, until it became normal and the money was just sitting there. — 00:03:31
  • 2026-05-29 · Chemo Cow Body Odor YouTube Helen Hunt Commute — Hank says the brothers justified taking the ad money by putting half into a pool granted to small educational creators, first YouTubers and now on multiple platforms: over 10 years, dozens of grants. — 00:05:20
  • 2026-09-18 · John was Wrong about YouTube Views — Hank warns not to apply the trick to other YouTube channels: many factors, from where the audience lives to video length, affect ad rates. — 00:00:29
  • 2026-09-30 · The Point of Life — John loves a hit of meta: not the corporation that turns human attention into ad revenue, but self-referential layers of irony, art and experiences. (playful) — 00:00:20
  • 2026-10-01 · Are We Still YouTubers? — Hank: For about ten years Hank told people at parties he made educational videos for high school and college students and ended up explaining what CPM stands for. (playful) — 00:03:08
  • 2026-10-09 · The Productivity Lie — Hank: Among the Vlogbrothers things he is proudest of, Hank names the yearly bets on educational creators funded by a piece of Vlogbrothers ad revenue, which he calls the most rational thing. — 00:05:58
  • 2026-10-23 · The Best Email I Ever Got — Hank: Because Focus Friend launched to a lot of people, Hank says, it can run without advertising, tracking or manipulative subscription tactics, pro-social choices hard for other app makers. — 00:03:57
  • 2026-10-30 · The Last Normal Year — Hank says 2016 was the first year online advertising outpaced TV ads in the US. — 00:01:59