Ad company Virtual Iris riding the HTML5 wave
As the web format battle between HTML5 and Adobe’s Flash heats up, we’re hearing from some companies making the leap from Flash to HTML, while others say that HTML isn’t up to their needs. Now the creators of an ad-building tool called Virtual Iris said they can deliver the rich media experience of Flash in HTML.
Much of the interest in HTML5, which is the latest update of the basic format of the web, has been fueled by Apple, which doesn’t support Flash on the iPhone and the iPad (leading to back-and-forth insults between Apple and Adobe). Apple has also announced an ad-building service called iAd, which will feature HTML5 video. Not wanting to be left off by Apple’s devices, startups like Scribd have abandoned Flash for HTML5, and ad-building startup Sprout, which was initially all about Flash, now supports both formats.
Los Angeles-based Virtual Iris, meanwhile, said it has been working with ad network Traffic Marketplace for more than a year on an ad-creation service that includes the multimedia and interactivity that advertisers get from Flash, but all in a banner HTML ad. By dragging-and-dropping different elements into an ad, customers can create banner advertising that includes features like banners-within-banners, rollover interaction, and multiple videos. Founder and chief executive Gary Kramer said, “You can literally put your whole website inside a banner.”
Virtual Iris is already serving 300 million ads per month, Kramer said, bu its main partner has been Traffic Marketplace. Now Kramer said the company is ready to expand, so it’s opening its service to new customers.
You can see a gallery of sample Virtual Iris ads here.
Here is a link to the original article: media.venturebeat.com/2010/05/14/virtual-iris-html5/