The Colorful History of Advertising Technology in Just 63 Slides

What was the click-through rate of the very first banner ad?

10%?

15%?

20%?

Not even close. When that inaugural banner ad launched in 1994, it pulled a staggering 44% CTR.

To put that in perspective, a click-through rate of around 2% is considered solid by today's standards — meaning that first ad outperformed modern benchmarks by 42 percentage points. Just imagine the ROI that kind of engagement would generate in the current advertising landscape.

First ever internet banner ad, 1994

Banner advertising was the original form of digital display advertising on the internet, and the story of how it evolved into today's complex programmatic ecosystem is filled with equally surprising milestones. The SlideShare presentation The History of Advertising Technology traces the full arc of that journey — from the earliest display ads through the rise of the ad tech platforms and infrastructure that now underpin the industry.