The Atlantic

The First-Ever Banner Ad on the Web

It was an advertisement for AT&T in 1994, and people clicked on it like crazy.
Source: Katie Martin / The Atlantic

People don’t often click on banner ads these days—at least not on purpose, anyway. In fact, many internet users actively go out of their way to never see advertisements.

Ad blockers create all kinds of problems for companies that rely on (cough cough like journalists cough), but it’s understandable why ad blockers appeal to people. Display ads are too often clunky, ugly, and intrusive—all kinds of ad trackers collect and sell data about people.

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