The article was written by Cory Treffiletti. This guy typically provides good insight into online media topics and I generally agree with his position. But in this instance I must emphatically object. There is little correlation between pre-roll and pops. Now, the title of the article is a bit misleading because it turns out that he's talking more about moderation than pre-rolls becoming the next big "loathed" online advertising vehicle right behind Pop-ups and Unsolicited emails (AKA Spam).

Using this type of comparison to lead into a moderation sermon should be outlawed.

Boys and girls, sit down while I tell you the history behind the "annoyance factor" of pop-ups. Once upon a time, there was no rhyme or reason as to where and how pops were going to display. Advertisers loved them because there was so much inventory it was easy to reach their ROI metrics. And, consumers responded to them!!! Oh, how an $0.18/CPM can really excite media planners and marketers alike. There was also no standard as to how many were allowed at any given moment and no one cared. And, consumers still responded to them! HOW AWESOME?!?!

But, then, marketers went too far. They inundated the consumer. And, websites – they kept selling and selling and selling and selling these little ad units, ignoring the cries of the consumer that they didn’t ask to see this content! They didn’t want to be bothered with a pop-up or pop-under every time they visited a website.

Now that our history lesson is over, the real reason why you should never utter those two units in the same breath is this: Pre-rolls are based on consumer request. Consumers have the option to pay for their content and skip pre-roll videos. The pre-roll is allowing the consumer to have unlimited free access to online VOD content! Pops don’t have that type of control. It’s up to the site if the pops are served, not the consumer.

Before we hang this highly effective tool out to dry, consider standardization instead of bastardization.