See that hideous thing up there? Well that’s the world’s first banner ad , created by AT&T and served in 1994. Let me tell you my reader friends, things have come a long way indeed. A recent report from the IAB has suggested that online ad spend rose 4.6% in the first half of the year, giving it a 23.5% market share and edging it ahead of TV spend. What makes it even more impressive is the context within which that 4.6% growth occurred: the overall advertising sector declined by 16.6% in the same period. Now remember that it’s not all down to lovely banners such as the one above. In fact, much of the growth came from search and online classifieds. We think you’ll agree that this is all very excellent news.