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Seth MacFarlane and Google to Revolutionize Web Video With Annoying Targeted Advertising
Seth MacFarlane and Google have forged a new partnership set to make the Family Guy creator the most powerful man in Web video, save for Tay Zonday and that “Evolution of Dance†guy. In September, MacFarlane will debut a new project called Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy, a series of 50 two-minute animated clips (think “animated versions of the one-frame cartoons you might see in The New Yorker, only edgier,†says MacFarlane) to be shown on predetermined Websites in Google’s AdSense network. The videos, which will allegedly play only when clicked on, will be preceded by paid ads (no word yet on who, exactly, the advertisers are, but they’re supposedly responsible for some of the largest deals in AdSense history).
The deal marks a bold first step for Google into the distribution of original content, will certainly be the first profitable Web-video venture in history, and could possibly upend the business models of all other entertainment-delivery platforms. And, in September, when you’re rifling through your Web-browser tabs, trying to figure out what the hell is making that stupid noise, it’ll probably be Seth MacFarlane’s fault.