Autoplay video with sound
Auto-playing Video Ads with Sound · experience 02 of 23
It is a video ad, in the middle of the page, that starts playing with sound by itself, without the person doing anything. The sound catches the person by surprise.
Understand it in 1 minute
This is a video ad that plays with sound without any action from the person. They did not click anything, did not ask for anything, and suddenly sound comes out of the computer. The Coalition for Better Ads explains that this experience is very disruptive because it catches the reader by surprise. Often the person closes the window or tab very quickly just to make the noise stop. It is like walking into a quiet shop and someone turning on a speaker next to you without warning.
The deciding point is sound without a click. The Coalition's definition talks about a video ad that plays sound without any interaction from the person. So what separates right from wrong is who turns the audio on. According to the Coalition, ads that need a click to activate the sound did not fall below the standard. So, if the audio only turns on when the person clicks, the ad is outside this rule. In the tests, the experience evaluated was the in-line video that starts on its own with sound.
There is one detail about videos the person chose to watch. The Coalition warns that its method has not yet tested, for this rule, ads that play before (pre-roll) or in the middle (mid-roll) of the video when that video is related to the page's own topic. These cases are outside this specific rule. For everything else, the question is always the same: did the sound start without the person clicking? If the answer is yes, the ad falls below the standard.
Allowed
- A video ad that only turns the sound on when the person clicks.
- A video ad that starts without sound and needs a click to turn the audio on.
- A video that only starts playing after the person clicks play.
- Pre-roll or mid-roll of a video related to the page topic: the Coalition has not yet tested this case in this rule.
- An animated banner with no sound, which is not a video with audio.
Not allowed
- A video ad in the middle of the text that starts playing with sound on its own when the page opens.
- A video that starts muted and turns the sound on by itself after a few seconds, without a click.
- A video ad with sound that starts on its own in another part of the page, outside the text.
- A video ad that plays with low sound, without the person clicking.
In practice
Imagine a news portal with a video ad in the middle of the article. The person opens the page and the video starts playing with sound, without them clicking anything. They get a fright and close the tab to stop the noise, exactly what the Coalition describes. If the same video needed a click to turn the sound on, it would not fall below the standard.
Why it's annoying
Unexpected sound startles people and makes them close the tab just to stop the noise.
How to fix
- Set the ad player to start muted.
- Show a clear button to turn on sound.
- Check in Ad Manager that the creative or the line item does not force the audio.
In ConsentMode
The engine blocks ads so it does not generate impressions. The ad's sound can only be checked with the page open.
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