Did you spot that enormous swath of blue and green on the New York Times homepage today? Did you wonder for a minute if it might be part of the new test of XXL formats unveiled by the Online Publishers Association. You’re not alone. Silicon Alley Insider was among those to speculate that the ad for Lowe’s (displayed below) is one of the new units offered through the recent program to create more impactful display advertising.
Turns out the ad has nothing to do with the program. A spokesperson for the Times just told me the Lowe’s unit is one NYTimes.com has used before. She said the site has pledged to offer at least one of the OPA units by July 1st.
An OPA rep confirmed the new ad units had not begun to appear. She said if the ad unit were part of the program, the ad would move down the page as a user scrolled down.