• by July 18, 2000

I thought you might want to know there's now a museum devoted solely to banners. And where is it? Online, of course, at http://www.BannerAdMuseum.com.

I promise to resist the temptation of whetting the whistle of all those who say the banner is dead and belongs in a... well, a museum, but that's simply because more talent and energy been devoted to the design of the 468x60 pixel area of a web page than to any other single advertising vehicle.

"This small rectangle must carry a corporate identity, deliver a message and first and foremost get the viewer to click through," the site says.

Notably, the Banner Ad Museum calls itself a repository of the art, science and engineering of the banner as it is today -- in the beginning -- and contrary to a somewhat widespread view of the format's impending extinction, hopes to track the banner's evolution in the years to come.

Now, as the museum is being constructed (the official "opening" is scheduled for September), the site is asking agencies, corporations, advertisers, graphic designers and any legitimate owners of banner ads to submit their best works - banners in the standard eight sizes, identified by Category, e.g. B2B, and Strategy, e.g. Clickability.

Something you may want to consider for your best banners. In a few years, as we find ourselves longing for the easy-to-buy rectangles instead of sponsorships, rich media, email and other complicated ad formats, this site may become a welcome trip down Memory super-highway.