25. Internet Video Star

By: Fast Company staffWed Feb 18, 2009 at 2:02 PM

The 30-second TV spot has been very good to big-brand advertisers. Now Allie Savarino's development of the first Internet video commercial technology, which debuted in January 2004, marries the tried-and-true qualities of traditional brand ads with the future of advertising: interactivity and rigorous measurement. Internet video ads -- high quality, full-screen, and appearing between Web pages -- feel like the TV experience marketers are used to. Savarino has lured the likes of Miller Beer, Honda, AT&T, Nextel, Pfizer, Kraft, and Toyota to try them. But while Internet users haven't rebelled as they have against pop-ups, the further televisionization of the Web hasn't been met with universal huzzahs, either. Still, Savarino's big year was validated in December, when Viewpoint Corp. purchased Unicast.