The Programmatic Glossary
A practical glossary designed to help marketers, advertisers and ad-tech professionals understand the terminology that powers programmatic advertising
Technical Infrastructure
VPAID (Video Player Ad-Serving Interface Definition)
An older technical standard that enables video ads to interact with the video player, triggering events, capturing user interactions and enabling rich interactive features. VPAID (Video Player Ad-Serving Interface Definition) was once widely used for measurability and interactivity, but has largely been replaced by newer standards due to security and performance concerns.
HOW IT WORKS
VPAID (Video Player Ad-Serving Interface Definition) ads run as JavaScript code executed inside the video player. This code can communicate with the player: pausing content, displaying overlays and capturing interactions. However, this same JavaScript execution capability created security vulnerabilities and performance issues, leading the industry to move towards VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) and SIMID.
EXAMPLE
An advertiser wants their video ad to display an interactive overlay where viewers can configure a product. They use a VPAID (Video Player Ad-Serving Interface Definition) creative that loads this interactivity within the video player. However, the JavaScript execution causes the player to crash on some devices, a common VPAID complaint that drove the shift to safer standards.
RELATED TERMS
VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) | SSAI (Server-Side Ad Insertion) | CSAI (Client-Side Ad Insertion) | In-stream video | CTV (Connected TV)
