Acceptable Ads are ads compliant with the Acceptable Ads Standard, which is defined by the independent Acceptable Ads Committee (AAC), established in 2017. The Acceptable Ads Standard ensures that ads are not intrusive to the users’ web experience and changes to the Standard must be supported by research on user’s perceptions of new or existing types of ads.
In 2021, the AAC researched the sentiment of ad-blocking users toward in-content ads. This study surveyed 9,076 ad-blocking and ad-filtering users to assess their acceptance of ads within desktop webpage content. This resulted in a few changes to the Standard in the placement and size criterion, as well as the specific criteria. More information can be found in this blog.
What’s changing?
Initially, 300×250 ad formats were excluded from this change. Although this ad format was found to be acceptable by users based on the research, there was a perception gap among the different age groups in the study.
Since the change in early 2022, the industry has voiced concerns about the exclusion of one of the most important in-content formats – 300×250. After re-evaluating the 300×250 in-content ad format using an improved study design and a large user sample, the results showed that while there is still a difference in perception based on age, the ad format is viewed favorably by users.
Therefore, based on the new data, the AAC proposes that the maximum height for in-content ads be increased to 250px (which will make 300×250 ads compliant).
What does this mean?
The following changes will be applied to the Standard:
In addition, the committee will implement a probationary period of six months during which it might revise the Standard regarding the increase to the maximum height for in-content ads, to identify and address any problems or opportunities that arise during real-world implementation.
Have your say
If you are an Acceptable Ads user, please read the above suggestion as well as this study carefully and provide your feedback on the proposed changes below or reach out to the president of the AAC, Terry Taouss, at info@acceptableads.com
The AAC will accept feedback for one month, ending on August 30, 2024 after which it will render a final decision on the proposal.
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