Here’s the grandaddy that spawned the thing you guys like least on the Internet: ads. This artsy, graffiti’d print on a black background telling you to click “right here” is supposedly the first banner ad to ever appear on the Internet. It popped up nearly 20 years ago in 1994 and was an ad for AT&T.
Joe McCambley, co-founder of The Wonderfactory, was the man who created the ad, thus the man responsible for birthing all those banner ads you love to use ad block on. The banner ad first appeared in October 1994 on a website called HotWired.com and was sponsored by AT&T to promote some art museums. It’s been used to varying degrees of success ever since.
Man, back in 1994, I’m pretty sure I would have clicked that thing just out of morbid curiosity. Now in 2013? I don’t even notice them anymore. [Business Insider]
