Guardian Unlimited toughens its stance towards advertisers

Guardian Unlimited is to ditch conventional advertising slots on its homepage as part of a radical overhaul of the website.

The relaunched homepage will instead offer advertisers the opportunity to buy banner and other advertising slots for a single day or a range of time periods.

Adam Freeman, deputy commercial director of Guardian News and Media, says: "There will be no standard advertising on the front page. The front page is a crucial shop-window and we want consumers exposed to content. It is not just about delivering advertising."

The newspaper is in discussions with agencies over its proposals, which are likely to include ad slots tailored for advertisers’ needs.

The unveiling of the new homepage is understood to be weeks away, and the newspaper has confirmed itself committed to the new format for the long-term future.

Freeman says: "This is a strategic decision. We are not interested in testing it and then reverting to standard trades."

The Guardian’s approach to advertising is unique among news sites, although it has adopted a similar model to that used by search engine Yahoo.