In June, Snapchat announced that more than two-thirds of its video ads are viewed with the sound on. This announcement was considered a not-so-subtle jab at competitor Facebook’s track record on sound; 85% of the social network’s ads are viewed with sound off and captions on.
Given that sound and video have been ubiquitously intertwined since the Roaring Twenties, Facebook’s lack of ad sound is stark. Nevertheless, soundlessness has become so endemic to Facebook that the company urges advertisers to take captions into account for their videos. Brands like Hotels.com have launched ads that poke fun at this quality.
