Advertising Acceptability Guidelines
The following is a list that describes some of the kinds of advertising
that HowStuffWorks.com websites will not accept. (This list is for
illustrative purposes and does not include all types of advertising
we may find objectionable. HowStuffWorks.com reserves the right to
not run any ad it considers objectionable).
- General
Advertisements that contain fradulent, deceptive or misleading statements or illustrations. Attacks of a personal nature. Advertisements that are overly competitive or that refer abusively to the goods or services of others. - Blinking/Jumping Ads
Ads that excessively blink or "jump around" in the ad space to gain attention are not acceptable. This includes "shoot the duck" or "punch the monkey" type advertisements. - Discrimination
Advertisements that fail to comply with the express requirements of federal and state laws. - Offensive to Good Taste
Indecent, vulgar, suggestive or other advertising that, in the opinion of HowStuffWorks.com websites, may be offensive to good taste. This includes pornography. - Online Gaming/Gambling
Advertisements promoting wagering sites or gambling. - Cigarettes
Advertisements for tobacco. - Contraceptives
Advertisements for contraceptives. - Dating Services
Online dating services. - Firearms
Advertisements for firearms and ammunition. - Liquor
Advertisements for liquor are only accepted on HowStuffWorks.com international traffic. - Tobacco
Advertisements for cigarettes and other tobacco products. - Trick Ads
Ads that mimic windows error messages.
HowStuffWorks.com Advertising Specs
Universal Ad Package:
| Creative Type | Functionality | Creative Size | File Size |
| Standard Banners |
Gif, JPEG, Flash | 300x250; 728x90; 160x600 | 20k |
| Standard Rich Media |
Expandable, Flash (up to version 8), iFrame, In Banner Streaming, Polite Download, Standard |
300x250; 728x90; 160x600 | 40k (100k total for Polite Download) |
Animation Time: 15 seconds limit.
Audio: User initiated on click; Must contain visible stop/play and pause or mute functionality.
Alternate Text: 30 characters.
Creative Submission Lead Times: HowStuffWorks.com requires creative assets 48 hours prior to campaign launch.
Standard Specifications:
HTML
HTML code cannot exceed 3k; 2 images maximum, total file size of images cannot exceed 20k. Client-side imagemaps are acceptable and must be provided by the client. CGIs referenced in the HTML code must be active at the time of ad submission for validating/testing the HTML code, and able to handle the traffic load. Ads with CGIs which are not active and/or cannot handle the project traffic will not be accepted.
Animation
Looping/Flashing can continue upon load for a period of 15 seconds maximum.
Linking URL
Linking URLs must be domain name based and cannot be the IP address. (i.e., http://207.123.456.78/)
HTML code cannot exceed 3k; 2 images maximum, total file size of images cannot exceed 20k. Client-side imagemaps are acceptable and must be provided by the client. CGIs referenced in the HTML code must be active at the time of ad submission for validating/testing the HTML code, and able to handle the traffic load. Ads with CGIs which are not active and/or cannot handle the project traffic will not be accepted.
Animation
Looping/Flashing can continue upon load for a period of 15 seconds maximum.
Linking URL
Linking URLs must be domain name based and cannot be the IP address. (i.e., http://207.123.456.78/)
Rich Media Specifications:
Do not accept Floating Units
Expandable Unit Guidelines
Click Open/Close: creative can be set to expand with user click; panel retracts when mouse is removed or with a second click. Must include close button.
728x90 expands below only to 728x315. 300x250 expands to the left, below or both to 560x250. 120x600 expands to the right only to 420x600. 160x600 expands to the right only to 460x600.
Video (in Banner)
Max Time: 30 seconds.
Accompanying audio must be user initiated click.
Must contain functioning stop/pause and play, and audio controls.
Video (Pre-roll)
Flash FLV Only; no Java, Quicktime, Windows Media.
Expandable Unit Guidelines
Click Open/Close: creative can be set to expand with user click; panel retracts when mouse is removed or with a second click. Must include close button.
728x90 expands below only to 728x315. 300x250 expands to the left, below or both to 560x250. 120x600 expands to the right only to 420x600. 160x600 expands to the right only to 460x600.
Video (in Banner)
Max Time: 30 seconds.
Accompanying audio must be user initiated click.
Must contain functioning stop/pause and play, and audio controls.
Video (Pre-roll)
Flash FLV Only; no Java, Quicktime, Windows Media.