Online banner ads are a necessary evil. If you’re a website, they help in paying the bills and keeping the site up and running. In exchange, the owner of the ad gains exposure and eyes on their product or brand. That’s the deal. We have a big problem the moment the online banner ad interferes with the intended purpose of the website.
We’re not talking about pop-up ads as everyone knows those are the devil and a good way to make sure no one buys from your company. No, we’re talking the ads which “take over” a portion of your screen and prevent you from seeing the site’s content.
Here’s one on CNN.com I’ve seen which was also captured by a Reddit user:
What the hell is going on here?
It’s getting increasingly difficult to grab a user’s attention online, but this strategy is horrible and infuriating. These trees, which really don’t relate to an insurance company outside of the promotion of paperless statements and billing, consume the screen and prevent you from clicking on any of the articles you might be interested in.
Online ads aren’t going away anytime soon, but companies and advertisers can at least make the experience a pleasant one.
