the first banner ad
loreweb devops culture
AT&T's 'Have you ever clicked your mouse right here? You will.' on HotWired, October 27, 1994 - the ad that founded the web's business model.
There was no single first: HotWired launched with roughly a dozen 468 by 60 pixel banners from AT&T, Volvo, Club Med and others, and GNN had sold a clickable ad the year before. But AT&T's rainbow-lettered dare became THE one, with its creator reporting that around 44 percent of viewers clicked, a rate the industry never saw again. Everything the modern web gives away for free is descended from that afternoon.