Flashing logos and words, on the other hand, simply turn people off. As behavioral research determined long ago, people are attracted to certain colors and repulsed by others. That principle has long been applied to print advertising, but seems to have been lost in banner ad design. Because psychologically, red is an angry color and black is depressing. In contrast, if your banner incorporates a green and yellow color scheme, it may look ugly, even on the screen, but it will generate a higher than average click through rate because green is soothing and yellow is cheerful.
Web advertising is pull marketing, while television advertising is push marketing.
To work effectively, therefore, banner ads must welcome people into their space by enticing them with something they value, enjoy or recognize positively. Far too many banner ads today do just the opposite. Peter Weddle is a businessman turned journalist and publisher. Please contact us if you have a topic you'd like to see covered here.