Ads invade Byte with a campaign from Nike

Like it or not, the Vine revival app Byte is bringing in a staple of modern social networks: prominent ads. The looping video app has launched its first ad campaign with Nike, which is running a rathe conspicuous "Self Hail Mary" sponsored section alongside the usual categories. It's easy to avoid watching the videos if you don't particularly care for them, but there'll be no doubt that Nike paid for obvious placement.

Don't be surprised if you see more of these ad blitzes in the future. Byte's strategy revolves around paying creators a cut of ad revenue, and it'll need big promos like Nike's if it's going to have enough money to make it worthwhile for would-be influencers. The challenge, of course, is to bring in enough ads without driving away the very users Byte needs to recreate Vine's glory days.

byte's first ad campaign is live and we did it with @nike. i'm *really* proud of our collaboration. the creative is amazing and nike's focus on movement and fun is a perfect fit for our first step into this world pic.twitter.com/I34iRGFFvS

— dom hofmann (@dhof) February 1, 2020