Facebook unveils 'video light' ad unit called Slideshow

Dive Brief:

• Facebook’s Slideshow ad unit is a solution that allows advertisers to serve moving ads for audiences in emerging markets such as India, East Africa and South America.


• Because bandwidth is more scarce in those regions, video ads are out of the question, but Slideshow’s rapidly shifting images simulates video while not hogging bandwidth.


• Brands can create ads in both full video and Slideshow, and Facebook will detect the bandwidth of the recipient and deliver the appropriate ad version automatically.

Dive Insight:

Facebook is so serious about mobile video ads it has come up with a solution to reach 2G connection or even low bandwidth areas such as India, Kenya and Nigeria. Facebook’s answer is a new ad unit called Slideshow that ties together up to seven still images into an ad that approximates video. Facebook will also automatically detect users’ bandwidth and if advertisers have full video and Slideshow version of ads available the platform will serve users with the ad unit appropriate to their download speed.

A Facebook blog post describes the new ad unit, “Slideshow reduces the need for video production time and resources, and because of its smaller file size, it extends eye-catching ads to people on basic devices or with poor connectivity. In early testing, we found that a 15-second slideshow can be up to 5x smaller in file size than a video of the same length. Slideshow uses video-like motion and no sound, giving advertisers a new way to tell brand stories to people everywhere.”

Netflix and Coca-Cola have already tested the stripped-down ads, that are part of the social network’s attempt to fully connect people around the world. Facebook even launched Facebook Lite, a bare-bones version of the app, and through Internet.org, it is working to increase connectivity in emerging markets.

Nikila Srinivasan, Facebook’s product manger for emerging markets, said “For smaller businesses, the ability to create cost-effective videos continues to be a challenge. They don’t always have large advertising budgets to go and produce a video.”

Additionally, Facebook also introduced its Creative Accelerator program earlier this year to to help marketers understand what they need to consider when advertising in emerging markets.

Recommended Reading

Marketing Land: Facebook Introduces New “Slideshow” Ad Unit For Emerging Markets, SMBs
Mashable: Facebook brings Netflix ads to India with a cool solution to low bandwidth
Venture Beat: Facebook’s new Slideshow ads could transform how the company sells ads in emerging markets
Marketing Dive: Facebook’s carousel ads are already outpacing other ad formats

Facebook unveils "video light" ad unit called Slideshow