What are the different display ad sizes?

Which newspaper ad size fits your pocket?

Among the two types of newspaper advertisements, display ad sizes are the ones that matter the most to advertisers, since classified display ads have a few limitations in terms of ad sizes. Therefore advertisers in general focus more on the display ad sizes, while classified adverts are known more by the number of words and lines used in them.Display Ad Fromat

So let’s comprehend the different ad sizes in which display adverts are published. Although there can be numerous ad sizes, but we intend to focus on the ones that are popular.

Quarter Page

The name quarter page refers to the 1/4th of a newspaper page which has about 7-8 columns of standard size, which is around 3-4 cm each and has a length of about 50-52 cm. A quarter of these dimensions brings the ad to a size of about 15-16 cm in width and 25-26 cm in length.Quarter Page Ad in Hindu Newspaper

A quarter page ad occupies a complete corner of a newspaper page and is also referred to as a postcard size advertisement. This is the most common form of display advertisement, as it is not only an economical option but if placed strategically, as mentioned about corners in the previous lesson, they can prove to be quite effective. The standard size followed by quarter page advertisements by publications is 16 cm X 25 cm for convenience in designing and printing the ad.

Half Page

By the same logic, a half page ad is known so as it occupies half of a newspaper page. But there are two types of half page adverts which have separate dimensions as well.

Vertical Half Page- If a half page ad is vertically printed then the dimensions of such an ad would be around 16 cm wide and 52 cm long covering the full vertical length and the half width of the page.

Horizontal Half Page- As for a horizontal half page advertisement, the ad would be 33 cm wide and 25 cm long, covering the complete width and half length of the page in question.  

Half-page advertisements are mostly common among Business, Retail and FMCG categories. Some of these ads are also flip ads, which means that only half of the newspaper page is printed on which the ad is placed while the rest has no content or any page at all. This happens mainly in case of the front page vertically half ads which appear like a half jacket of the main newspaper.

Full Page

Full page ads, as the name suggests covers the entire page of the newspaper and has no other content apart from the ad print. All full page advertisements are 33 cm wide covering about 8 columns and 52 cm long. These dimensions are based on the size of a broadsheet excluding a margin of at least 1-2 cm on the edges.

Full Page Ad in Delhi Times Newspaper

**(An image of a full page advertisement mentioning the dimensions of arrows and a gap of 1-2 cm on all the sides, displayed with arrows again)

Minimum Ad size

You must be wondering what else separates a display ad from a classified display ad which can also be wide as 6 cm and have any length.

Well, the minimum size of a display advertisement is around 4 cm in width and 4 cm in length while that of a classified display ad is 3 cm (width) by 5 cm (length). And, of course, that display ads can be printed on any page of a newspaper or its supplement.

In the case of certain specific newspapers, this minimum ad size criteria may be different. An example of this is the Times of India, wherein the minimum display ad size is 8 cm by 6 cm in case of all editions, except Delhi, for which the size limit is 8 cm by 4 cm.

Custom Ad Sizes

Apart from these popular ad sizes, there are certain ad sizes which cannot have a specific name since they are basically custom ad sizes. The dimensions for such adverts depend on the advertiser’s choice or the size of their personally designed ad.

Some of the most frequently preferred sizes are:

  • 4 cm (width) by 5 cm (length)
  • 8 cm (width) by 4 cm (length)
  • 8 cm (width) by 5 cm (length)
  • 8 cm (width) by 6 cm (length)
  • 8 cm (width) by 12 cm (length)
  • 12 cm (width) by 20 cm (length)
  • 16 cm (width) by 20 cm (length)

Advertisers can pick any of the above-mentioned sizes for their display ad or go with their own preferred ad size as per the design of their ad layout. But while publishing a display ad, one thing should be always be kept in mind that, except for the full page advertisement, the width all display ads sizes are even numbers, as in multiples of the numerical 2.