Tumblr announced today that the rollout of mobile ads for its iOS and Android apps has commenced. It’s part of the blogging platform’s initiative to generate more revenue in new ways.
These new ads are designed to be noticeable, but not entirely obtrusive. They look just like any other post in the Dashboard, but you’ll know when you’re looking at an advertisement because they’re marked by a dollar sign ($) at the top right. The image above is an ad from GE which simply incorporates a few words and an animated GIF.
“The content our brand partners have created is more than just advertising — it is thoughtful, beautiful, and diverse content that fits seamlessly alongside the best work on our network,” said David Karp, Tumblr founder and CEO. Tumblr is starting out with ads open to just its initial partners: ABC Entertainment, ABC Family, GE, Pepsi, and Warner Bros.
If you don’t see ads right away, you will soon. The rollout is scheduled for completion by the end of May, so some time roughly within the next month they’ll start popping up in your mobile Dashboard. Users can see up to four per day. That’s in addition to the Radar ads in the sidebar of the desktop website, though these are far less noticeable.
“This is the first of many exciting planned Tumblr ad launches in 2013,” said Lee Brown, Global Head of Sales and formerly of Groupon. Tumblr is aiming to reach profitability by the end of this year.