Back in 1998, static banners were alright.  But today, not so much.  Unless you’re Cliffs Notes, and have the coolest copywriters in the world.  Click banner to enlarge:

For the sake of clarity, yes, I came across this ad yesterday on a financial website.  And it legitimately linked to Cliffs Notes homepage.  Click this link to see the the ad in situ (I took a screenshot and had imageshack host): http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/9950/picture1lj7.png