Ad banners are the only reason why we're able to enjoy free content around the web. But its also no secret that one in 1,000 is the average click through rate for banner ads these days. Its pitiful, but its perhaps not your fault. Because there aren't many good enough ads that can get your attention.

The best display ads are admittedly not very often, and they don't come just like that. The 10 examples below show that banners need not be boring. And do us a favor. Click on our banner ads too. Just like Sheryl Sanberg says, "Now that we're public, click on an ad or two". Thanks! Check out banner ads that we should be seeing more often instead after the jump!

Ikea

To make the case that you can fit a lot of Ikea products in your house or apartment, the Swedish furniture giant ran a banner in April that featured 2,800 items. Check it out:




Nissan's Househunter Test Drive

From Dubai, this combined data from house-hunting site Dubizzle to automatically suggest a Nissan for you based on your budget, neighborhood and family size.



Cadbury Dairy Mlik's "Thanks a Million"

To celebrate reaching 1 million fans on Facebook, Cadbury constructed a giant chocolate thumbs up. Facebook fans could contribute building the chocolate tower by liking it.



The First Commercial on Twitter

The Smart car in Argentina and agency BBDO Argentina in April launched a banner ad powered by tweets on the brand's Twitter page. Made from 456 140-character tweets, which created the image of an animated car moving through the city.



Acura's Wired.com Ad

Text and images on Wired.com morphed into an Acura in this 2010 ad.



Apple, Part I

The U.K. version of Apple's "Mac Vs. PC" ad:



Apple, Part II

The U.S. Mac Vs. PC guys banter and interact with The New York Times's homepage in 2009.



Stride's Ridiculously Long-Lasting Banner Ad



Ikea, Part II

Ikea, known for its DIY assembly, let users put together their own banner ad.



Met LIfe's "Play Like Schroeder"

Met Life ad let you try to play the piano like The Peanuts' Schroeder by touching your keyboard at roughly the speed he plays.