Banner ads. The scourge of the internet surfer. They're everywhere and often feature shiny, color changing text and balloons. The banner ad was the best idea someone had before the idea of contextual ad placement. And, according to a new study, people aren't looking at them.

The eye-movement tracking study shows that when someone visits a web page they're eye focuses immediately on the content on a page and not at the graphical ads trying so hard to get their attention. The Interactive Advertising Bureau disputes this, saying that all that money being spent on online advertising can't be going to something that's not effective. The practice of ignoring ads, though, may be one that was learned and not natural. Years of experience, both first and second hand, with ads that send people to porn sites or infect their computers with spyware have taught people to look past the banner ads and not pay attention to their content. As the story notes, the eye-tracking study's focus on the idea that the eyes gravitate toward content helps the case for search and otherwise contextual advertising.

[via Lost Remote]