Let me get in your face

The much maligned pop-up/pop-under of the late 90s and early 2000 was responsible for brand building and an incredible amount of direct response sales. It was dominated by advertising for the now defunct X10 camera.

The pop-under was a popular ad unit and the first IAB standard ad unit to have a patent. It became a staple for many direct response advertisers during the first half of this decade. As many browsers began to incorporate pop-under blocking, the pop-under became less and less effective as a direct response tool. As a result, most brands stopped using them, and many publishers stopped selling them.

With that said, pop-ups and pop-unders are still being used even though many publishers stopped utilizing them on their sites. Why? Because they came close to having a full-blown audience revolt. But some publishers are still selling them to brands that are willing to buy them.