Secret Leaders with Dan Murray-Serter & Chris Donnelly

How One Simple AT&T Ad Changed Internet History Forever

Apr 4, 2025

Discover how AT&T's iconic banner ad in 1994 revolutionized digital advertising with a staggering 44% click-through rate. Uncover the rise of Google AdWords and its transformative effects on search ads. Delve into Facebook's targeting techniques that reshaped political landscapes. Explore the evolution of mobile and programmatic ads that track user behavior. Finally, glimpse into the future of ad-powered payments with insights from Philip Belamant of Zilch, promising a more efficient approach to commerce.

15:15

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Quick takeaways

The launch of AT&T's first banner ad in 1994 marked the beginning of digital advertising, ultimately engineering the internet's evolution.

The rise of targeted advertising through Google AdWords and Facebook transformed how businesses engage users, reshaping online marketing strategies.

Deep dives

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The Birth of Digital Advertising: From Banner Ads to Google's Revolution

8min

The Evolution of Digital Advertising: From Search to Social Media and Beyond

8min

From the first banner ad in 1994 to programmatic mobile ads, the internet as we know it was built on one thing: advertising. In this explosive episode of Secret Leaders, we break down the untold story of how ads didn’t just fund the web—they engineered it.

You will learn:

The birth of banner ads with AT&T’s legendary 44% CTR
Google AdWords’ rise and the search ad revolution
How Facebook’s targeting reshaped elections
Mobile & programmatic ads that track your every move
The next frontier: Ad-powered payments

Watch our full interview with Philip Belamant on our feed now. He runs Zilch - the fintech redefining payments and ad performance. With a model that's 26.5x more efficient than Google Ads, Zilch is pioneering the future of attention-based commerce.

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https://wise.com/uk/business/

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