Latest Banner Ad Rage: Companion Ads

The creativity of the current Apple campaign is undeniable. They only get better online when two ads interact in what is called companion ads.

If you spend any time online at news web sites, you may have noticed one of the newest types of online advertisements, the “companion” ad. Typically, a banner or masthead banner ad will interact with or even communicate to another ad on the web page, mainly those tall skinny ones you find on the side of the page, called skyscrapers.

Just today, I was over at CNN.com (where you see a lot of these) and noticed a pair of new companion ads from those masters of interactive and innovative advertising, Apple. This ad was a new one in the apparently never-ending banter between the “Mac” (actor Justin Long) and the “PC” (comedian John Hodgman), where the Mac calls down from the top of the web page to the PC who is down to the right side.

So Simple, It Had Me Coughing Up My Cell Number Without a Second Thought

An idea so elegantly simple, you will find yourself drawn into its innovative idea.

Doubtless, you’ve left the home countless times on a sunny morning, only to be faced with a torrent of rain once you get to work. UmbrellaToday.com asks that you enter your zip code (presumably where you are now or where you’re going) and it predicts (we guess through some sort of web services feed) whether you’ll need an umbrella today.

Once reviewer on Lifehacker.com — our favorite source for all things geek — exclaims, “Despite its questionable usefulness, this [web site] deserves an award for simplistic practicality.”