Yahoo Debuts Motion Ads

Yahoo has unveiled a new ad format, Yahoo Motion Ads, the network revealed on its Yahoo Advertising blog.

According to Yahoo, the ad format “brings images to life, helping brands tell more engaging stories and drive greater awareness with their target audiences.”

Yahoo’s Motion Ads combine high-quality images with animation to “create high-impact experiences for advertisers that are equally entertaining for readers,” the network says.

Yahoo says its Motion Ads are initially available within the Billboard Ad on the Yahoo homepage, as well as on Yahoo’s vertical category homepages and the Yahoo login page.

“We believe that when you combine beautiful images with elegant animation, it creates a very powerful form of brand storytelling,” Yahoo says. “And when brands have a flexible canvas to design beautiful ads, we see experiences that engage our readers more and ultimately drive higher results for advertisers.”

Food brand Kraft is the first advertiser to use Yahoo Motion Ads in a campaign for its Kraft Singles product that uses animation to depict a hot grilled cheese sandwich steaming on the Yahoo login page.

“We are always looking for opportunities to engage our consumers in unique and innovative ways that deliver our news – Kraft Singles are now made with no artificial preservatives,” said Brian Gelb, senior associate brand manager of Kraft cheese, in a statement. “Yahoo brought forward a great executional idea and we are excited to be the first brand to launch it.”