Melissa - no doubt about it, today's video advertising online is reminiscent of the early days of banner advertisements. Despite being clunky, often annoying, and not fully mature technology - they seem to be working. But, having seen this once before, we all know where this is heading. The company I work for, http://www.PermissionTV.com, is focusing on building a SmartPlayer that introduces a couple of items in your list - interactive online ads and "hotspotting" (clickable links inside videos).

Our name is an omage to Seth Godin's Permission Marketing, and we think that coming up with creative ways to have users "self-select" the advertisement that's most appropriate for them, is the key to the future of online video advertising. Glad to see there are others who agree!