Both academia and industry seek to design ad features that improve user experience, increase ad effectiveness, and retain users on video platforms. This study investigates ad exhibition, a key advertising strategy that manipulates distribution of ads within videos. Grounded in information processing theory, we examine how ad exhibition influences user cognitive and affective responses, including brand recall, perceived waiting time, purchase intention, and user satisfaction. Results from two online experiments reveal that dispersed ad exhibition enhances brand recall and reduces perceived waiting time; however, this effect is significant only for lengthy videos. Further analysis demonstrates that brand recall mediates the effect of ad exhibition on purchase intention, while perceived waiting time mediates its impact on satisfaction. A controlled lab experiment conducted with a student sample closely simulated real-world scenarios, providing robust evidence for the validity of the aforementioned conclusions. The present research adds to the existing literature on advertising by shedding light on the interaction of advertising. The study offers valuable insights on how to optimize the placement of ads in order to enhance revenue and attract users.