ViTrue: User Generated Ads

This just in! Atlanta based ViTrue raised $2.2M and aquired video sharing site Sharkle in plans to connect user generated ads with brands.

From Ad Age:

"In many cases, they're going to have more success than any individual creative would," Reggie Bradford, ViTure CEO, said. "The vision is to get brands more involved [in consumer-generated content] and allow them to tap into this in a more meaningful and powerful way."

Sharkle.com, which launched about six months ago, attracts 1 million users a month, according to the company. It will continue to operate a video-sharing site, only it will offer creators the opportunity to participate in a marketplace for video ads. ViTrue provides a video ad-production platform that includes brand assets and consumer-creation tools. Sharkle users will rate the ads.

"Our goal is to take this video site and create a business model where folks can make money on it," Bradford said."

From the press release: (flash site, no direct link)

"Broadband Internet has completely disrupted the model for creating and distributing video. At the same time, the Internet is a viral marketercs dream come true," said Bradford, founder and CEO of ViTrue, Inc. "ViTrue takes advantage of these market dynamics, enabling the advertising community to spearhead the next realm of user-generated content - consumer created advertisements."