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The World's First Banner Ad

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the it-didn't-need-to-blink dept.

An anonymous reader submitted a link to what they claim is the the internet's first banner ad. It comes from 1994 HotWired, paid for by AT&T. It's ugly, but no animation, no popups. It makes me a little nostalgic.

39 of 157 comments (clear)

  1. Can't see it by adrianbaugh · · Score: 3, Funny

    I went to have a look, out of curiosity, but privoxy killed it by size... Ho hum :-)

    --
    "'I pass the test,' she said. 'I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel.'"
    - JRR Tolkien.
    1. Re:Can't see it by LehiNephi · · Score: 2

      I also couldn't see it at first--I apparently have an Adblock rule that kills it. Good to know that new technology works on old problems, too.

      --
      Help find a cure for cancer. Join the [H]orde
    2. Re:Can't see it by LDoggg_ · · Score: 2, Informative

      Same here. Apparently privoxy doesn't like "banner.jpg"

      mirror

      --

      "If they have both, tell them we use Linux. And if they have that, tell them the computers are down." -Dave Chapelle
  2. Gotcha! by toofast · · Score: 5, Funny

    I AdBlocked it just before I was tempted to click on it. Bastards won't get me that easily.

    1. Re:Gotcha! by Malicious · · Score: 2, Funny

      Adblock.. right.. that's why I can't see it :D

      --
      01101001001000000110000101101101001000000110001001 10000101110100011011010110000101101110
  3. um by theCat · · Score: 2, Insightful

    it goes to a joke site. Can we get some verification of the authenticity of this? Anyone from the old HotWired days want to comment?

    --
    =^..^= all your rodent are belong to us
    1. Re:um by tpgp · · Score: 5, Informative

      It's genuine.

      Was a bit in the news last year on the 10th anniversary.

      The comments on this adblog post have a little more info.

      And its bloody depressing that this image is linking to crap you don't want to look at 10+ years on....

      --
      My pics.
  4. In CBG's voice... by truthsearch · · Score: 3, Funny

    Could this domain name BEEEE more annoying?

    --
    Developers: We can use your help.
    1. Re:In CBG's voice... by netfool · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'm thinking of registering theevenlongerlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdoma innameatlonglast.com, just out of spite.

      --
      Left 4 Dead Gaming Group - http://www.l4dgg.com
    2. Re:In CBG's voice... by FidelCatsro · · Score: 2, Funny

      It could be in 1337
      http://tehl0ng35tl1st0vtehl0ng35t5tuffattehl0ngest zorzd0ma1nn4mea7l0nglast.com/PWNZORZ
      Much more annoying

      --
      The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
    3. Re:In CBG's voice... by prockcore · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You can't. The limit is 63 characters, and they're at 63 characters exactly.

  5. Click Through Rate? by mikesmind · · Score: 3, Funny

    I wonder what percentage of people who click from Slashdot will buy today?

    --
    www.mikesmind.com - www.daddyworkathome.com - www.freetofarm.org - www.tenfoottable.com
  6. Hey Taco by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If animation bothers you so much, why do you allow it on your own site?

    Anyone else remember when Hemos and CmdrTaco violently swore Slashdot would never have Flash ads?

  7. Buffer overflow! by caluml · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hmm! That domain name overflowed a buffer in Firefox, and now I have teams of Hungarian hackers fighting Russian hackers for control of my Linux box. Don't click it!!

    --
    Get your own free personal location tracker
    1. Re:Buffer overflow! by ndansmith · · Score: 4, Funny

      How do you type "pwn3d" in Cyrillic? I've always wondered.

    2. Re:Buffer overflow! by Stradenko · · Score: 2, Funny

      I looked at that and saw "Rossner" ... your last two letters are too backwards to make any sense (to me) ;)

    3. Re:Buffer overflow! by Joe+Random · · Score: 2, Funny
      How do you type "pwn3d" in Cyrillic? I've always wondered.
      In Soviet Russia, Cyrillic pwn3z you!
  8. And just think.... by beyond_the_blue · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...they've gotten MORE obnoxious since that.

    --
    "Sometimes you have fun, and sometimes the fun has you"
  9. 10 years later... by wombatmobile · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Google honed the concept of relevance in advertizing with unobtrusive text ads.

    Secret sauce: relevance

    Result: Profits and a market cap of $130B

    Compare this with the fate of the company that paid for that first banner ad...

    1. Re:10 years later... by TubeSteak · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Unfortunately, where I live, we don't have 45mph EZ Pass lanes.

      That didn't stop me from trying, after one of my friends told me that they'll still work at a healthy speed.

      Did it a few times... until I started getting pissed off letters in the mail telling me to slow the F down.

      Moral of the story: Just because they work at 35mph, doesn't mean you can ignore the 10mph posted limit.

      Kind like flashing banners: Just because you can make them, doesn't mean you should.

      --
      [Fuck Beta]
      o0t!
  10. First spam email in 1978? by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 4, Interesting

    First spam email in 1978?
    http://www.templetons.com/brad/spamreact.html

  11. LOL, I can't believe I licked on thelink! by photovoltaics · · Score: 4, Funny

    I can't believe I clicked on the link... to a banner ad!

  12. Museum of Internet Atrocities? by Caspian · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Perhaps, some day, stuff like this will be presented in a Museum of Internet Atrocities, collecting the history of spam, banner ads, pop-unders, Flash ads, DDoS attacks, tubgirl and goatse?

    --
    With spending like this, exactly what are "conservatives" conserving?
  13. I find this... by Billosaur · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...more interesting. The World's First Patent

    --
    GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
  14. More Retarded Links by 31415926535897 · · Score: 2, Funny
    Since we're posting stupid stuff from stupid websites, here are a few more from that website:

    A Slashdotter Can Dream

    Stuff You Already Know (but is likely wrong now)

    Hey, This one actually has a computer reference

    You Have Them All Memorized, Right?

    Yes, The Creators of This Website Are Morons

  15. IMP by dotpavan · · Score: 2, Funny

    dont forget to use tinyurl for people to get there

  16. Screw this by dada21 · · Score: 4, Funny

    If I can't punch a monkey, shoot a duck or try to slash the ninja, I'm not clicking!

    How far we've come in 12 years!

    1. Re:Screw this by timster121 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Unforunatly, you can't find good mortgage rates, either :(

  17. Nostalgic indeed by thePowerOfGrayskull · · Score: 4, Funny

    Ah, those were the days. It doesn't flash, or Flash, or move, or make noise, or anything. It just... sits there.

    /me wipes away a tear.

  18. Which word are you supposed to click on? by digitaldc · · Score: 3, Funny

    Are you supposed to click on HERE? or are you supposed to click on YOU WILL?

    I mean if you click one word or the other they will take you to different internets.

    --
    He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
  19. AT&T's "You Will" campaign by zsazsa · · Score: 4, Informative

    This was a part of AT&T's "futuristic" "You Will" campaign. Anyone else remember the commercials 12 years ago? A lot of the things they promised, like attending meetings in your bare feet, checking out at the super market a shopping cart at a time, are now possible -- just not with AT&T's technology. Sorry, guys.

    ad-rag.com has the old TV commercials -- but you have to pay €2 for the privilege. :(

    1. Re:AT&T's "You Will" campaign by RobertB-DC · · Score: 2, Funny

      or the O-S-C-A-R M-A-Y-E-R commercials teaching me how to spell my first word B-O-L-O-N-G-A.

      In an early variation of targeted advertising, possibly by region, my Oscar Mayer ads taught me B-O-L-O-G-N-A.

      --
      Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
  20. Dammit, firefox! by lilmouse · · Score: 4, Funny

    My installation of Firefox isn't blocking it :-(

    Stupid firefox, I'm gonna get a *real* web browser, like Lynx - Lynx wouldn't show me the banner ad!!

    --LWM

    PS My god, it's ugly! We've come a long way! Not sure if that's good or bad...

  21. Not the first banner ad by koltrane · · Score: 4, Informative
    This may be the first WEB banner ad, but Prodigy was running advertising banners along the bottom of their EGA screens back in 1991 (and probably earlier). If you think this looks primitive, check out the ZEOS banner on this ZD Prodigy page (Date Unknown)

    http://www.styla.com/images/port_prodigy_full.gif

  22. Re:Phooey. Prodigy used 'em circa 1987. by marco.antonio.costa · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ok grandpa... sure.. time for your medicine. :)

    --
    Send your spendthrift head of state this
  23. One big ad by MikeTheMan · · Score: 2, Funny

    An article about a site with a banner ad on it?

    If this isn't a Slashvertisement, I don't know what is ;-)

  24. Am I the only one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    who has Slashdot's RSS feed at the top of their Gmail inbox, and thus saw this as:

    Slashdot - The World's First Banner Ad - 3 hours ago

  25. Re:468x60 by Puggs · · Score: 2, Funny

    Took me a while to figure out you meant dimensions - I thought you were talking about some bastardisation of Intel and Motorola processors... ;-)

  26. Re:Previously covered by "ClickZ" in 2004 by oliana · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's TEN YEARS OLD. Of course it's been covered before.

    --
    In Soviet Russia, asses suck this joke.