High Noon: Online Pop-Down Ads

At the Coeur d’Alene Press online site at the moment, you encounter a pop-down ad from Steve Adams seeking your vote in Tuesday’s municipal election. On Sunday, Mike Kennedy had purchased the space for his pop-down ad. The ads appear as soon as you open the site. You have to click on them to close them. Which guarantees that you notice them. However, they’re very annoying because, in the Press’s case, they pop down every time you click on a story.

Question: What do you think of popdown ads? Are they effective?