To come up with great display advertising, you first just need to come up with great…

To come up with great display advertising, you first just need to come up with great advertising.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better example of how digital should and could be done.

I stumbled across this video from Google and then proceeded to watch the hour documentary on 4 advertising greats reinvent their iconic ads for the digital era.

There was a time, in another century, when people used to click on banner ads.

The first banner was purchased on HotWired in 1994 by AT&T, it was forward-thinking, experimental, and set off a chain reaction that altered the course of the advertising industry.

44% of people who saw it clicked on it.

But 30 years on, why are we still using the same format?

With a clickthrough rate of 0.05%, data proves you’re more likely to survive a plane crash than to click on a banner ad.

After a while, people just tuned banner ads out, they’re now like a wallpaper in the background. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

These greats didn't work to a 300x250 static canvas, digital is an immersive experience that can be so much more.

It’s time we follow their lead and find a better model than interruptions that add to the clutter.

A model that matches the shift in consumer behaviour, a model not just to generate traffic, but that provides a gateway to immersive experiences.

Has anyone ever saw a display ad and they can say it’s had an impact of their life? I doubt it.

But if other channels can do it, why can’t digital?

It’s not just about us refining our targeting, inventory, creatives or formats. We may need rethink the whole user experience.

I feel we often over complicate the work we do and the process to get there.

An every day person is going about their busy life, and for a short moment you may have their attention and the opportunity to get a message across. While there are hundreds of variables which may have taken us to this point, all the consumer sees is an ad.

Within a split second they’ll decide if the ad is worth their attention, and either move on with their day or allow some more time to see the message being shown.

If the ad is not worth seeing, it doesn’t matter the work done to get to this point, the opportunity is wasted.

The best ads are the 1 in 100 that are actually noticed and remembered. In a world where consumers are bombarded with advertising, our job would be simpler if we put ourselves in their shoes and asked: Is this worth their time?

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