While it's a good thing people realize that banner ads won't work as they might have some years ago, I still wonder why they discuss the "best place" of banner and how it integrates most unobtrusively. I think people will feel even more exploited when they are tricked into clicking a well hidden banner ad.
To me, the question is rather: "Is banner ads still a good form of advertising?". The only way I could answer "yes" to that is if users had a reason to click that banner, for example because they would receive something for it:
- Points for their personal sponsor
- A discount for finding that particular banner.
The reward would have to be something that makes people actively look for those banners.
In any other case, I'd argue we need a different form of online advertisement than banners.