Here Are The Major Brands Caught Advertising Next To That Beheading Video
Banner ads for Buick and Zipcar also ran alongside the video, which may or may not be real, and the content marketer Disqus served ads for Gap beneath it. In addition to Sherwin Williams and Nissan, pre-roll ads for Wolverine shoes and off-road vehicle manufacturer Polaris also ran. The video has received over 300,000 views.
The mishap is just another example of how companies often do not know exactly where their ads go when they make purchases with third-party ad buyers. Many brands use automated negative targeting to keep ads from appearing next to live stories with undesirable keywords, but that can only go so far.
For example, negative targeting might keep the previously mentioned Nissan video ad or that State Farm banner from appearing on a page about a developing terrorism story, but not from Forebz DVD.