Google Preferred Advertisers Return To YouTube Months After ‘Adpocalypse’ (Study)

Four months after the YouTube ‘Adpocalypse’, when more than 250 brands pulled ads from YouTube after discovering that they had run alongside videos promoting extremism, it looks like major marketers have returned to the platform in full force — at least among YouTube’s Google Preferred channels.

In May, 50% of Google Preferred advertisers fled the platform amid the boycott, reports AdWeek, citing data from ad-sales software company MediaRadar. (Google Preferred channels comprise the top 5% most-viewed content on YouTube, against which brands can purchase ad packages. And while the Adpocalypse was ultimately triggered by lesser-known channels, it affected top-tier creators as well).

As of June, however, the number of Google Preferred advertisers was way up — to the tune of 134% more than there were in January, before the Adpocalypse began in earnest. “While this may be a result of YouTube shifting more advertisers to their safer, preferred channels to allay concerns regarding brand safety,” MediaRadar said in a release, “the rate of increase is a positive sign for YouTube across the board.”

The firm came to this conclusion by tracking ads across the top 24 Google Preferred channels (there are hundreds), including The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Vice, Motor Trend, and Zoella. There were 508 Google Preferred advertisers in June, according to MediaRadar, as opposed to just 217 in January.

YouTube, for its part, told AdWeek that the number of brands participating in Google Preferred in the U.S. grew 30% in the second quarter year-over-year.