Online Banner Advertising Specifications


General Guidelines

Overall Creative Specs

30-second maximum for any animation.

Animated GIFs: maximum 3 rotations.
Flash: maximum 3 loops.

Any creative with a white background must have a minimum 1-pixel border to differentiate ad from editorial content.

Recommended file size is 40K; Maximum file size is 100K.

All creatives must open in a new browser window.

All creatives are subject to final approval by Haymarket Media Inc.

Compliance Week
 site specs
W px x H px
Medium Rectangle
300x250
Half-Page
300x600
Ad Server DoubleClick
DoubleClick
Animated gif/jpg Yes Yes
Flash Yes Yes
Flash w/ embedded sound or video Yes Yes
Third party tags Yes Yes
Video Yes No
Recommended file size 40K 40K
Expandable dimensions 500x250 No


Flash

Flash creatives should be published as Flash version 7 SWF with a backup GIF/JPEG.
The flash frame rate must be less than 18 FPS; 12 FPS is preferred.
There is a 3 loop maximum for flash ads.
A close button must be included and added to root level or level zero.

Click Tracking

A clickTAG should be added to the button to allow click performance to be tracked. ClickTAGS should not have URLs coded in them because DoubleClick cannot count clicks if the .swf file has the URL. The clickTAG is case-sensitive in Flash version 6 and above and must be "clickTAG." In other versions of Flash, it is not case-sensitive, but it is recommended to be "clickTAG."

ClickTAG Coding Instructions
1. Select getURL in the button from where you want the URL navigation to trigger.
2. Type clickTAG in the URL field. ClickTAG must look exactly as shown in diagram to the right.
Examples of the finished button script with AS 1/AS 2 (Note: clickTAG is case sensitive)
on(release) {getURL(clickTAG,"_blank");}

on(release) {getURL(_level0.clickTag,"_blank");}

on(release) {if (clickTag.substr(0,5) == "http:") {getURL(clickTag,"_blank");}}
Example of the finished button script with AS 3 (Note: myButton refers to the instance name of the button object. Spell clicktag using only lowercase letters. Hardcoded URLs are not allowed.)
myButton.addEventListener(
MouseEvent.CLICK,
function():void
{if (root.loaderInfo.parameters.clicktag.substr(0,5)=="http:")
{navigateToURL(new URLRequest(root.loaderInfo.parameters.clicktag), "_blank");
}} );

Third Party Ad Tags

All creatives sent via third party tags have no file size limits; however, all files over 100K should use polite download functionality.

  • Up to 100K in polite download is allowed. Polite download is the portion of the ad that loads once page content loads. Up to 2 additional loads of up to 50K each may be initiated after a user over his or her cursor over or clicks on the ad.

All creative third party tags must be in the format of javascript NOT iframes.

Creatives sent via third party tags must open in a new browser window. Prior to submissions, creatives should be tested for stability across all browser platforms.

All third party tags should be submitted with clear instructions regarding the implementation of click-tracking redirects and cache busting information. Ad production cannot guarantee that click-through data will be tracked for all of the rich media technologies that are third-party served.


Additional Rich Media Guidelines

Expandable/Interactive Ad Units

Creatives CANNOT be hosted by Haymarket Media and must be third party served.

Maximum frame rate of 25 FPS.

Interactive ads should auto-close after 15 seconds.

Auto-expansion is not permitted. Expansion to occur on mouseover and retract on mouseout.

Prominent close button required on third party served expandable units. The ad must feature a close or collapse button (11pt font: "Close X") that closes the panel with a user's click. The advertisement must be included on expanded section.

Audio is permitted, but must be initiated by user click.
Video is permitted, but must be initiated by user click.

Video should not exceed 15 seconds.

Clearly visible start / stop video and audio controls

Any interactivity, including expandable banners and audio/video, should be user-initiated, defined as a click and not a mouseover or rollover, and clearly labeled with "Play" and "Stop" controls unless otherwise approved by the Web site. Embedded video must be hosted and served by the advertiser.



Prestitial

When composing the files using .swf (Flash), the files must have the following specifications:

Version 8 or lower, AS 2.0 (only if necessary, otherwise 1.0)
File Size: maximum 100K
Frame Rate: maximum 30 FPS
Background flood colors should be included for any non-white backgrounds
Minimal listeners
Any click-through URLs removed

When composing the files using .jpg, .gif, .png, the files must have the following specifications:

Color mode: RGB
Standard optimization
72 DPI (no progressive scan)
File Size: maximum 100K
Non-animated


Page Peel

The Page Peel is comprised of two main graphical elements: the dogear which is the teaser, and the peelback, which is revealed when rolling over the teaser. An optional third element is an image to replace the default reflection. All three elements can be formatted as .jpg, .gif, .png or .swf. Specifications for each type are listed above.

For the dogear, the dimensions can be any length, but no greater than 75 pixels in height. Only about 40 or so of the top pixels are visible though, refer to the art templates. Any image wider than 300 pixels will automatically scroll from right to left. A buffer of 100 pixels should be placed on either side to allow for a smooth transition. Any image less than 300 pixels in width will not scroll.

For the peelback, the dimensions are fixed at 800x600. The composition should place all the live content in the upper right hand corner, as nothing in the lower left corner will be visible.

The optional image to replace the reflection should be 600x500. If a transparent format is used, such as a .png, the steel reflections of the flap will show through the transparent areas. Overall color to the flap can be achieved by using a semi-transparent layer of color and saving in .png format.

Pro Tips

Third-party ad serving and tracking:

  • Ad object can accept third-party served ads and tracking, this includes iframed nested ad.
  • Check the validity of the tracking information prior to providing the tags by clicking on the tags provided by vendor.

One button limit: The ad object is comprised of one large button for the click-through which supercedes all other items, including buttons specified in your provided creatives. Use root level mouse coordinates rather than buttons to initiate additional actions, such as sound or animated "rollovers."

Root level access: Have advance action script that needs root level access? Use: this._lockroot = true , and export out as 7.0 or higher.

Speed: The parent movie is set at 30 FPS. If you feel this is too fast, decrease the frame rate of your creatives after using the lockroot comma.


Prestitial

The Prestitial is comprised of two graphic elements: the publisher's logo and the ad creative. For the ad creative, the standard dimensions are 640x480.

Additional elements include a timeout counter, which redirects the visitor to the original page the ad was launched from; a skip feature, which allows the visitor to return to the original page manually; a publisher's link, which is the click-through for the publisher's logo; and a frequency cap, which controls how frequently a visitor can see the ad.

Pro Tips

Third-party ad serving and tracking:

  • Ad object can accept third-party served ads and tracking, this includes iframed nested ad.
  • Check the validity of the tracking information prior to providing the tags by clicking on the tags provided by vendor.

One button limit: The ad object is comprised of one large button for the click-through URL, which supercedes all other items, including buttons specified in your provided creatives. Use root level mouse coordinates rather than buttons to initiate additional actions, such as sound or animated "rollovers".

Example:

Additional Sponsorship Opportunities

Text Link Sponsorship

Text links appear with a title and body. A maximum of two links can be included.

Text Link Sponsorship Specs:
  • Title Text: Up to 100 characters with spaces.
  • Body Text: Up to 300 characters with spaces.
  • Third party tags cannot be accepted due to formatting.
  • Impression and click-tracking accepted.
Example:


Custom Content

Custom entitlement logo treatment will involve coordination with agency and Haymarket Media Inc. See your respective sales representative for more details.