Google testing video ads in search results

From VentureBeat:

Today, Google started testing video ad placement in search results
according to The New York Times Bits blog. Though just a very limited
trial for now, this is an important step in the evolution of the
company's bread-and-butter advertising business.

Even though Google has run both image-based and video ads on sites
using their AdSense platform for a while now, the Google search
results page has always been restricted to the simple text-based
advertisements that don't overwhelm results. As Google's vice
president of search products and user experience, Marissa Mayer, puts
it "We were doing text-based search that was all textual. Visual ads
don't work in that format."

However, with Google now shifting toward "universal search" that
includes images and videos in results, the time has come to test out
expanding the ads that accompany those results as well. Says Mayer,
"With universal search, something is getting shaken up a bit on the
bottom part of the page - The ads on the top part of the page should
match."

Google is indicating that these video ads will appear small on the
page and only expand to playable size when a user chooses to click on
the 'plus' button similar to what is done currently with YouTube
videos in search results