Following the Money: Ad agencies/Brands links to piracy.

Over at the excellent Music Tech Policy, comes this article.

It starts with the above diagram from a post at a blog called Advertising Perspectives purporting to show off the potential happy fun time win win situation agencies have thanks to the likes of Ad Exchanges.

See, the original steps of web advertising are clunky and the need for a more efficient ship was a primary goal. Hence the birth of the more streamlined and highly efficient Ad Exchanges.

What the article doesn't mention, and what Music Tech Policy shows is that brands and agencies alike are fully aware that Ad Exchanges are helping to place some of their advertising on pirate websites. And because this stuff is easily tracked, the brands and ad agencies know it.

Yup that's right. Big brands may keep it hush hush but they are definitely placing them on Megasteal.com They are supporting piracy.

And you can't claim ignorance on the matter. Because to do so would be the same as a brand claiming they didn't know their ads were running on Fox news during Bill O'Reilly.

We have media buys for a reason. it doesn't matter how nano-second fast Real Time Bidding occurs. This stuff is trackable.

And as Music Tech Policy points out: two of the ad exchanges (Right Media, DoubleClick Ad Serving) are owned by Google and Yahoo. What's even more interesting?

... Google and Adbrite are identified in the Megavideo indictment as supporting the company in its formative years (alongside, curiously enough, Creative Commons fans Partygaming).

Follow the money, peeps.

And then read more on this topic:

Part 1: David Lowery.

Part 2: Adam Weber

Part 3: Rob Levine.

Part 4: Britta Phillips.

src="adland.tv/ollateral-damage-how-free-culture-destroys-advertising"> David Lowery.

Part 2: Adam Weber

Part 3: Rob Levine.

Part 4: Britta Phillips.