Banner Ads

With estimates of over 200 different ad sizes and shapes being identified on Web sites that accept banner ads, the lack of "standards" is a troubling issue which has caused advertisers to spend time and money resizing ads to fit individual sites.  Some sites have gone so far as to take off-size banners and reduce them to fit, a technique that often yields less than desirable results.

The Internet Advertising Bureau and the Coalition for Advertising Supported Information Entertainment announced joint recommendations for nine standard banner ad sizes for the World Wide Web.  These are "voluntary" guidelines and not standards, the organizations emphasize.  Nevertheless, Web publishers who want the cooperation and goodwill of the advertising community are well advised to adopt these guidelines.