This is the only type of internet ad that has ever worked on me. They read-out a promo code unique to their channel that gave me a 10% off discount upon purchase. Not just that, but the channel got a kick-back for promoting relevant content, and the advertiser got data telling it exactly how effective money-spent on this channel was by virtue of the promo code.

No tracking of my habits was required, and all parties involved probably got detailed-enough feedback as to their campaign's effectiveness.

I completely agree. I cannot stand some random YouTube ad that YouTube itself plays before videos because it's not relevant and I do not trust the people that are marketing it.

When I see someone I trust on YouTube recommend a product in a pre-roll ad or the like, then I don't really skip it and I do really keep those companies in mind in case I ever am looking for a product that they might offer.

If-and-only-if the sponsorship or product recommendation is properly disclosed as a paid promotion[1], this is a great way to handle product promotion.

> trust

This is the key feature. The advertiser risks trusting that the promoter will show their product in a positive light. The promoter risks their own reputation on the quality of their endorsements.

This element of risk hopefully serves as an incentive to maintain a high quality of both the product and the endorsement. Bad manufacturers and poor quality (or scandalous) services should lose access to trustworthy endorsers with (hopefully) large audiences. Good manufacturers and high quality services won't want to associate with cheap shills.

The only problem I see is that places like YouTube are not optimizing for quality endorsers. Their focus on engagement is driving away people that try to create quality; may have already left. Those that remain are becoming increasingly formulaic, uninspired, risk-adverse, and "advertiser safe".

[1] Which is required by law![2] This probably also means disclosing if you got a free copy for review purposes[3] of a product that would otherwise cost money or have a non-monetary value. The disclosure must also be "clear and conspicuous"[4].

[2] https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2017/04/ftc-s...

[3] https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/ftc...

[4] https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/ftc...

> I like how many YouTube channels take 30 seconds out of a 10 minute video to talk about some company's product that might be of interest to their audience.

I like how many podcasts have ads with predictable lengths, so I can skip them with the "fast forward" button without hearing them. NPR is 4 skips; Slate is 8-10. It seems like "deep learning" should have figured this out by now.

TV scene pirates use machine learning to automatically cut advertisement breaks from ripped shows before they get uploaded.

The newest version of Plex DVR software can cut commercials out of your recorded video too

Only because they’re using comskip. Don’t give Plex credit for simply setting a post process script. It’s also not very reliable as you need to tweak the settings per channel/show and so on.