Two things I've read recently brought this question to mind. Last week I came across (and posted via Twitter, LinkedIn and G+) a quote that claimed you are more likely to survive a plane crash than you are to click on a banner ad.
Seems plausible given that in recent memory, I've clicked on exactly the same number of banner ads as I have experienced plane crashes. (Zero in both cases.)
But that made me remember a quote I saw in the New York Times about a month ago.
"...banner ads have ruined the appearance and usability of the web, perverted content and diminished privacy."
Overstate things much?
I'm certainly not here to defend the banner ad. But, really? We're going to blame the banner ad itself when it's really the stunning lack of creativity and usability science shown by nearly every major online publisher in creating the banner ads that are out there?
That seems backwards. I agree that banner ads are a pox and would prefer a web without them, but the issue is not the banner ads themselves; it's the insistence on thinking in old advertising paradigms rather than heading off in new directions that available technologies make possible.
Think about the fact that, other than being clickable, banner ads aren't any better or different than most print ads. And they're worse than most radio and TV advertising.
At some point I would expect this to change. (Then again, I've expected this to have changed already.) As more and more media consumers - of movies, TV, magazines, and newspapers - move their consumption online, online advertising will get more attention.
Right now, banner ads are an afterthought. There's much better work being done on the pre-roll and interstitial ads you see alongside some YouTube clips. But ... those are still interruption-based and no more loved than radio or TV spots.
Banner ads have the opportunity to be something better. Here's an example of making an ad work without making it completely intrusive. I see, I engage, I'm done and back to my original content.
If the ad creators stop thinking of them as little print ads or pseudo-TV ads, they just might come into their own as a creative way to build brand and encourage action.
Until then, well, they aren't ruining life as we know it, but you should probably think twice before you include them on your site. Unless you have huge traffic numbers, the income they generate for you isn't going to be enough to offset the negative "guilt by association" factor.
And if you're creating banner ads, simple and classy is your only choice at this point in their evolution. Anything else just isn't going to do your brand justice.
Photo Credit: Banner Bane/shutterstock