Media-buying platform company The Trade Desk has launched a new campaign called ‘Unbreak the Internet’, taking a jab at tech giant Google and its “walled gardens”.
The campaign takes aim at what The Trade Desk calls Google’s “hold” over the internet, calling the tech giant out for its alleged tactics within the advertising ecosystem and how they “break” the internet.
The Trade Desk said Google makes money on both the buy and sell sides of an advertising transaction, claiming it was in Google’s best interest to push more ad dollars to the inventory they own, such as YouTube, instead of ads that are best for advertisers.
The campaign aims to serve as a call to action for advertisers, publishers and anyone involved in the advertising ecosystem to “come together to do their part to improve the internet”, in an aim to create a fair and competitive ecosystem.
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“Advertising is more than just a commercial break — it’s fundamental to the way the internet is funded. It helps publishers generate revenue for the companies that produce the content we love, whether that’s high-quality journalism, music streaming, podcasts, TV, films, radio or mobile apps. These businesses often rely on advertising to make their content free for consumers,” The Trade Desk ANZ general manager James Bayes said.
“If brands continue to invest the vast majority of their ad budgets in walled gardens such as Google, they inadvertently reduce the amount of money that the internet needs to produce high quality content.”
The campaign is also encouraging the use of fast-growing open internet ad channels like streaming TV, music apps, news websites, blogs and gaming.
Bayes added: “Brands often assume that people spend their online time on social media, but that’s no longer true. Majority (76%) of the time spent online by Aussies is now on the open internet.
“That’s great news for publishers and advertisers. For publishers, the more time spent on their sites than on social media, the more advertising revenue they’ll attract. And for advertisers, the open internet provides for a more effective way to deliver relevant ads through data-driven advertising, while offering more transparent access to omnichannel campaign performance.
“This level of openness and transparency helps advertisers make more-informed decisions to drive better-performing campaigns. It’s a win–win for everybody.”
The campaign was done through The Trade Desk’s own platform, and includes a series of short video ads run across connected TV (CTV) and online video advertising (OLV), complemented by audio, digital out-of-home, display and paid social executions across Australia.