"Google's AdWords advertising system, which you can normally see on the right of this page, is loved by many. Thin, light, and non-obtrusive, its text ads have long been a rallying call for those who hate flashing banners and the like. But like all "good things," the text-only ads are coming to an end. AdWords is now starting to support image advertisements in the form of full size ad banners. Whereas AdWords technology usually tried to place ads that were relevant to the page in context, Google's scheme will now also match context to image advertisements. So far, the company has said that they will refrain from showing image ads on Google properties for the initial rollout, but some already wonder if services like Gmail won't feel a little different if and when they pick up image ads. The initial rollout will happen across the AdWords network, and publishers will have the option of choosing if they want image ads or not."
Full Article:
Ars Technica
