The Most Brilliant Banner Ads Ever

Earlier this week while I was researching the new fall lineup on NBC's web site, I noticed some banner advertising on their home page. By now you may or may not know how I feel about banner advertising. I'm much higher on pre-roll video, etc. etc. Anyways, Apple happened to have some banner ads featuring their Mac and PC guys. It said "roll over to play video" and since I happen to like these ads, I decided to do so.

These aren't your typical banner ads so I feel a little stronger about these but I was highly impressed with the way they decided to use them. When the video began playing, the Mac introduced himself as did the PC. They were leaderboard banners so they were at the top of the page. All you could see was the two men from the shoulders up, however the PC was resting his arms on the bottom of the banner as to say he was creating space; like he was actually inside the banner.

They began to converse and then the PC, in typical fashion decided to end the conversation and walk out. But he couldn't get out, he was trapped inside the banner ad wall. He kept trying to ram his way out but he was not going anywhere.

I found these ads to be brilliant because for one, they got me to click, and for two, they created something outside the box. Instead of a boring flash or animated banner ad, they created an ad that actually did something. They created an ad specifically with these two characters and placed them inside the space creatively.

Hopefully you can get a chance to see these banners. Continually check NBC.com to see what you can find. If you find them somewhere else then send me an email or post a comment.