Marketing Terms

Skyscraper Ad

Definition

An online ad significantly taller than the 120×240 vertical banner.

Information

Skyscraper ads are tall — very tall — with heights often ranging from 500 to 800 pixels (and widths often ranging from 120 to 160 pixels). For a long time there was no standard sizes to which buyers and sellers adhered. This made skyscraper ads the province of large, well-branded sites that could sell custom advertising packages.

The IAB has since announced standard sizes for skyscraper ads. The standard skyscraper is 120×600 and the wide skyscraper is 160×600. With standards in place, skyscraper ads became more common at advertising networks.

Skyscraper ads are often called skyscraper banners, although some examples have mimicked the look of a banner by using a combination of ad buttons and text.

see also: Digital Marketing Tools

Sites

IAB Standards : Ad Unit Guidelines

Articles

Special Report: Are Bigger Online Ads Really Better?
E-Commerce Times (July 26, 2001)

Studies Say Banner Ads Work, But Bigger Is Better
E-Commerce Times (July 19, 2001)

Related Terms

banner ad, rectangle ad, vertical banner

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