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Juicy eyeballs

Juicy eyeballs

Uber embraces ads, Instagram turns back the clock, Walmart goes after creators

Amol Avasare
October 20, 2022

Hello there! If you've been feeling nostalgic for the good ol' days of the early 2000s, a cure is on it's way. One of MySpace's OG features - having a profile song - is making a comeback courtesy of Instagram, who's testing the feature internally. Guess we'll now have an easy way to explain to Gen Z what MySpace was.

Wait... They shipped what!?

Uber unveiled Journey Ads, introducing ads to its core ride-booking flow, while also formally launching an advertising division.

Backstory: Uber Eats ads had already become a large business, generating $350m+ in annual revenue.

Details: The new ad format displays ads on the ride status screen while waiting for a driver, as well as during a ride. Riders see the same ad for the duration of a trip, a move which Uber argues converts better.

In addition, Uber will also be introducing in-car tablet ads.

Why it matters: It feels like every day we see another established company turn to ads to drive growth. A few months ago, Lyft announced its own advertising division, and in the streaming space both Netflix And Disney will soon launch ad-supported tiers.

As this trend continues, we're likely to see a new user behavior emerge - people expecting and being comfortable seeing ads, despite paying for a service.

A corollary is that the medium-term answer to "What's the next big ad channel?" looks more like tapping a portfolio of various engaged user bases, as opposed to a single dominant new platform for advertising.