Facebook Wants Creative Control Over Its Upcoming Autoplay Video Ads - And Some Clients Don't Like It

It's hard enough to get clients to approve creative for ads - the agency's chief creative directors have to sign off on their teams' work first, and then the client has to sign off - so adding an extra layer of approvals to the mix naturally slows down the process. And because Facebook wants up to $2.5 million for a campaign, some clients are reluctant to spend money if they can't get exactly what they want.

Here's what Age says:

While Facebook will accept some TV spots for video ads, they're urging brands to create new spots specifically for Facebook that are more social in nature and take advantage of the platform. In addition, the company is setting up an internal creative review process intended to keep the quality of the ads high, but its unclear to those briefed so far how, exactly, it will work.

... Because Facebook is exercising creative oversight, the potential need for a substantial production investment could make video ads "doubly cost prohibitive," according to an executive briefed on Facebook's production standards.

Facebook has pushed back the launch of its upcoming autoplay video-ad product, which some had expected in October, according to Ad Age. (Business Insider first told you that video ads may not come to Facebook until Q4 or as late as 2014 back in July.) We asked a Facebook spokesperson yesterday about the schedule for the video ad launch and got no comment.

Disclosure: The author owns Facebook stock.