Ads could either be inserted into a <div> (which used a blocking document.write call behind the scenes), or they could be inserted into an <iframe>. The majority of publishers only ever used the iframe method, but a few were provided with div insertion codes.

As our ad serving capabilities have advanced, we’ve created more and more formats which only work when inserted as an iframe (e.g. What we now call “Fun Units”).

At the same time, we have advanced our iframe insertion significantly:

• iframes are now loaded asynchronously on most web browsers – meaning your website loads much faster while our ads load in parallel.
• We’ve added lightbox ad formats, and extra library methods for ads which make our iframes super-powerful.

iframes brought many other improvements, such as fraud prevention and extra security for viewers from potential “malvertising” and “clickjacking” attacks.

We have now switched all ad unit embeds over to the iframe method.

You do not need to make any changes, and this should affect very few publishers.

However, if your current ad unit embed code contains a <script> tag pointing to this url:

http://syndication1.viraladnetwork.net/getad/?style=frame

Then you can now make your site a little bit faster for some users by changing that url to:

http://syndication1.viraladnetwork.net/getad/

All new embed codes will reference this new url, and the probability that it will already be cached in your user’s browser (or by a proxy) is higher.

(You can check out the answers to see how many you got right here.)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Spectacular Man Made Sun Brightens up London 2 Hours Early: Here’s a cool little PR stunt that we’ve been seeding this week. Nobody likes dark winter mornings so Tropicana decided to bring a little extra sunshine to the streets of London by hoisting a giant artificial sun above Trafalgar Square, complete with deck chairs and glasses of orange juice for passers by to stop and enjoy a bit of a sunny boost on their way to work – smiles all around!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Megaupload mega song: Top of the UGC chart this week is the controversial file sharing promotional video from Kim DotCom. The clip, which features several big music industry names including Snoop Dogg and P Diddy, was already trending on Twitter following the shutdown of the Megaupload site earlier this month but was promptly removed from YouTube following a complaint from Universal Music, (despite the fact that the company does not control any rights to the video).

Click here to view the embedded video.

The song itself is a rather dull marketing clip but interestingly it’s been thrust into the media limelight as the latest example of the potential impact of the new anti-piracy movement. It has since been returned to YouTube after a successful lawsuit from Megaupload, but the owners are now facing indictment for copyright infringement and facilitating the wide scale illegal downloading and sharing of movies, music and other material online. The courtroom drama is set to continue for quite some time but the outcome is likely to be a sign of what we can expect of things to come, so watch this space!

Snoring dormouse with sound: On a lighter note, here’s our weekly dose of cuteness and my absolute favorite clip this week, one super sleepy little dormouse.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Lego man in space: Two Canadian teenagers make this brave little dude the first Lego man in space!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Using a helium filled weather balloon, two tiny cameras, a GPS tracking system and a homemade parachute, the pair managed to launch the plastic figure 16 miles into space (that’s three times the height of a commercial aircraft), capturing some beautiful shots of the curvature of the earth against the stunning blue of the stratosphere, before it parachuted back down to earth landing 75 miles away.

Radar: Crazy French prankster Remi Gaillard is back with the latest clip in the Dangerously Funny Videos series, this time he’s dressed up as a giant speed camera, flashing all kinds of traffic from tractors to trains. All appears to be going well until the police show up!

Click here to view the embedded video.

2011 – One Backflip A Day: This guys dad bet him $100 that he couldn’t do a backflip every day of 2011, so guess what he did…

Click here to view the embedded video.

One happy dog: Finally, rounding up the UGC chart with just a little bit more cuteness – most excited dog ever!!!

Click here to view the embedded video.

You can catch up on the full viral listings on the NMA viral Brand chart and UGC chart, powered by the Viral Ad Network.

According to The Guardian, the UK based Daily Mail has overtaken the New York Times to the most viewed online newspaper position.

The Media Blog explains that this has largely been achieved by the Mail Online focusing on scantily-clad celebrities, female figures in Bikinis, and other titillating content. This makes it’s readership quite different from the “white, middle-aged, middle class of middle England who worry about a news agenda of wheelie bins, cancer, hoodies, liberals and multiculturalism” that the Daily Mail’s print version caters to (as the Media Blog describes the audience).

But how much of a good example does this set for publishers?

Yes, the Mail has increased it’s readership very significantly – but the question is what has that done to their bottom line?

Very few brands would choose to advertise next to this kind of risqué content – meaning less competition, and lower prices. For those who are advertising, user engagement rate is likely to be lower – leading to lower click through rates.

A quick search for “Mail Online Revenue” brought the results I was expecting. Paid Content reported in July that the revenue per user had almost halved over two years – despite readership having increased by 82% in a single year.

After the overheads for serving content to this many viewers is included, it would be interesting to see how much of this reduced revenue they managed to turn to profit. Finding that out by itself would be difficult.

The Mail Online’s parent group (Associated Newspaper’s) reported a loss of $1,407,127.19 on digital operations in the year ending October 2011, which their CEO put down to struggling to sell ad space in the US, as well as capital spent on growth of operations.

The Mail’s $1.4M loss is compared to the NYTimes’ performance in Q3 alone, who posted digital revenue of $50.3M, and total net income of $15.7M across the company ($20M up from the year before) – despite declining revenue from print.

Perhaps the Mail Online isn’t setting such a great example to other publishers after all…

With amazing attention to detail the dogs bark to the tune of The Emparial March from Star Wars, dressed up as various characters from the film. Look out for a black Labrador as Darth Vader, a little Spaniel with super cute doggie earmuffs in the shape of Princess Leia’s hair and a Grayhound at the end dressed as a giant armored walking robot from The Empire Strikes Back.

But what on earth do Star Wars and dogs have to do with cars? Well nothing, but who cares, I love it!

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Day The LOLcats Died – #SOPA #PIPA protest song: You might have heard about the online protests that hit the web last week in reaction to the US governments proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) and Protect IP Act (Pipa). Over 7000 websites including Wikipedia, Redit and Google, co-ordinated a service black out in an effort to raise awareness of the impact the bills could have on the Internet as we know it.

Set to the tune of Don McLeans’s American Pie, The Day The Lolcats Died climbed into the UGC chart last week with a witty and eloquently put protest urging people to ‘speak up before the internet dies’.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Save the LOL cats and sign the American censorship petition.

Fotoshop by Adobé: On a lighter note, number 3 in the UCG chart is this hilarious commercial parody shedding light on unrealistic beauty standards. The secret to ‘a whole new you’, ‘goodbye wrinkles hello flawless beauty’ – No this isn’t the next wonder cream or the latest makeup sensation but actually the best kept secret of the fashion industry… ‘Fotoshop by Adobé.’

Click here to view the embedded video.

The comedy spoof  was created by filmmaker and commercial director Jesse Rosten to poke fun at the wide overuse of Photoshop on products and magazines, touting the power to create a look that leaves you “virtually unrecognizable” with the rather apt tag line, “This commercial isn’t real, neither are societies standards of beauty”.

Hat cat: Finally, this seasons must have fluffy fashion accessory!

Click here to view the embedded video.

For a full round up of the viral Brand Chart and UGC Chart check out the NMA website.

London date: Mon Feb 13th – the start of Social Media Week

and a special Manchester #KC in Feb too (date tbc)

Expect the usual *viral shenanigans*, further *meme-battling* and free beer courtesy of VAN

To get (free) tickets, check the following Eventbrite for London

http://kittencamplondonfeb.eventbrite.com/

and keep a look out for news on the Manchester event

Get involved: suggestions for the best memes you’ve seen recently to #KittenCamp

@ViralAdNetwork

@rubber_republic

Kaythxbai

This is part of internet-wide action against the bills coordinated for Jan 18th, and we are not being paid to run these ads.

For more information, visit americancensorship.org

• Serving of ads underwent 10 minutes of downtime for approximately half of all users.
• Tracking of actions underwent approximately 35 minutes of downtime.
• We will be bringing non-core functionality (such as dashboards) back online slowly during the next hour or so.

Tim Wintle

Don’t worry, here’s a little fluffy pick me up to brighten up your day… a video of cats floating in space!