Net video ads: attention vs. annoyance

Frank Harper is well aware that all those free video clips on the Internet come at a price: advertising. But that doesn't mean he sits idly as short video ads precede many of the dozen or so clips he watches each day at sites like Microsoft Corp.'s MSN.

"For the most part, I just mute the volume," said Harper, 55, who runs a security consulting firm in Sterling, Va. "Or I just look at something else, look at another headline ... or go to another site while the thing is playing."

Marketers and Web sites alike are struggling to bring to the Internet ads that resemble television without turning off viewers the way TV ads often do.

Spending on online video ads represents less than 4 percent of all Internet advertising and just 1 percent of the amount spent on TV, according to eMarketer. But growth is expected — with the research firm forecasting U.S. spending more than tripling to $4.3 billion in 2011 — especially as more viewers embrace full-length TV episodes and other video online.