Extra Large Ads: The 2009 Big Ad Formats and Large Ad Sizes Today

In 2009 top news sites started running extra large ads that dwarfed the usual 728×90 and 160×600 banners. I spotted a huge Mercedes ad on the New York Times website. This article looks at those big ad formats, what happened to them, and which large ad sizes publishers use today.

Quick answer: In 2009 the Online Publishers Association introduced three large ad units: the Fixed Panel, the XXL Box and the Pushdown. Big brand ads still exist, but today’s large formats are standard sizes like 970×250 billboards and 300×600 half-page ads. The Better Ads Standards discourage the most intrusive formats, such as large sticky ads and pop-ups.

The 2009 extra large ads

As readers kept searching for content between the ads, top publishers decided to give advertisers bigger, bolder spaces. The Online Publishers Association (OPA) announced that members whose sites reached 68% of the US internet audience had begun offering three new ad units:

• The Fixed Panel: 336 wide x 700 tall, stayed in view as the reader scrolled up and down the page.
• The XXL Box: 468 wide x 648 tall, which opened for seven seconds to 936 x 648.
• The Pushdown: 970 wide x 418 tall, which rolled up after seven seconds to 970 x 66.

Here is the huge Mercedes ad I spotted on the New York Times:

Early advertisers using the OPA units included Bank of America, Cleveland Clinic, Frito-Lay and Mercedes-Benz. Publishers offering them, then or soon after, included CNN.com, The New York Times, ESPN, Forbes.com, The Wall Street Journal Digital Network, The Washington Post, USA Today and Weather.com.

Why brands liked bigger ads

Bigger ads give better visibility and more brand presence. For CPM advertisers, who pay per thousand impressions, a bigger ad gets more out of each view. Large spaces on top sites were expensive, so only big brands could afford them, and they usually came with high-quality design. I expected ads to keep getting bigger, though even these were better than full-page ads.

Extra large ads today

Big ads did not disappear, but they have settled into standard sizes, and the most annoying formats are now discouraged:

• Billboard (970×250) and large leaderboard (970×90): wide units at the top of desktop pages. See where the 970×90 large leaderboard works best.
• Half page (300×600): a tall sidebar unit. Read our 300×600 large skyscraper results.
• Responsive ads: most publishers now let the ad network fit the ad to the space. See how AdSense responsive ads work.
• Auto formats: AdSense Auto ads can add anchor, vignette and side rail ads automatically.

The Better Ads Standards

The Coalition for Better Ads (external site) publishes standards listing ad experiences people find most annoying. On desktop these include pop-up ads, auto-playing video ads with sound, prestitial ads with a countdown and large sticky ads. Google Chrome began filtering ads on sites that repeatedly failed these standards in 2018, so publishers have good reason to avoid them.

FAQ

What is a pushdown ad?

A large ad at the top of a page that opens to show the full ad, then shrinks to a slim banner, pushing the page content down rather than covering it.

What is the largest standard display ad size?

On desktop, the 970×250 billboard and the 300×600 half page are among the largest common sizes.

Are large sticky ads allowed?

Large sticky ads are listed in the Better Ads Standards as a format to avoid. Smaller sticky units, like anchor ads, are common.

Do bigger ads earn more?

Often, because they get more attention and more advertisers bid on them, but too many big ads hurt the reader experience and can cost you visitors.