Google's new advertiser pages will show all the ads running from a brand

Google is about to show the world what ads brands are running on its websites in a move to introduce more transparency into how marketers use the platform. On Wednesday, Google announced the update that will show consumers more data about ads, including a library of a brand’s ads that ran on Google platforms, including YouTube, over the prior 30 days. The ad catalog could give consumers—and advertisers—a more comprehensive look at the ad creative from brands as large as Nike and McDonald’s or as small as a local business. Google is calling the ad catalogs “advertiser pages,” and they will be accessible through the “about this ad” tab that accompanies ads on YouTube and search. Subscribe to Ad Age now for the latest industry news and analysis. “Imagine you’re seeing an ad for a coat you’re interested in, but you don’t recognize the brand,” Google said in its announcement on Wednesday. “With advertiser pages, you can learn more about that advertiser before visiting their site or making a purchase.” In recent years, major internet ad companies have been providing more information about how their ad targeting works and what data informs that targeting, and also the creative behind those ads. Google and Facebook have been particularly focused on sharing more information around political ads, and both companies provide in-depth disclosures about political and issues-based ads through online libraries. Facebook’s ads library, launched in 2019, is a searchable archive that shows all current ad campaigns, including non-political ones. The non-political entries provide less information than the political ones, but they still give a glimpse into the types of marketing being done across its apps. Google’s new advertiser pages will appear only when a user is served an ad from a particular brand, so it will not be a searchable archive. But if a user sees an ad from, say, a restaurant or apparel maker, the ad will link to that brand’s 30-day advertising history. These types of tools are cropping up as the platforms hear from critics who are worried about the darker side of internet advertising. There are concerns about fraudulent actors who sell counterfeit goods or harmful medical products, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the transparency can give consumers more information about the entities doing the advertising. A byproduct of the increased transparency, though, is that major brands are also subject to the same rules, and they are opened to more scrutiny of their own marketing materials. Google’s update is a continuation of changes the company implemented earlier this year under an advertiser identification verification program. All advertisers had to confirm their identities and business origins in order to advertise on Google properties. Subscribe to Ad Age now for the latest industry news and analysis.

Google's new advertiser pages will show all the ads running from a brand

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