Holy Banner Ads, Batman!
I typically don’t mind banner ads. Having been desensitized, I very easily ignore them. Occasionally, I have even seen banner ads that were clever. There were a couple of Apple’s “I’m a Mac” ads done specifically as banners that used a horizontal banner across the top and a vertical one in the sidebar together in concert, for example.
Recently, I came upon the worst banner add I’ve ever experienced. Advertising Justice League, the banner displays vertically on the right side of the screen. As soon as it loads, it begins blaring music. There is a tiny little button in the bottom corner that will turn the music off. I found the button and was trying to get my cursor on it as fast as I could, but I was thwarted by Batman. As he flew across the frame, his cape covered the button. My reflexes were too slow—I clicked anyway, opening a new browser window directed to another website as the music continued blaring in the background.
It’s bad enough when a webpage immediately plays audio or video content as soon as the page loads. Putting audio in a banner add should be a punishable offense.