Display Ads
activeDisplay Ads are Banner and Native placements served through real-time bidding (RTB). They are the standalone ad units on your surface — as opposed to Sponsored Ads, which blend promoted products into the shopping experience.
The CDXP panel labels this slot category General Ads. It is the same thing; these docs say Display Ads throughout.
Before you start, complete the shared Retail Media setup: define your media property, your ad slots, and get your connection, credentials & host URLs.
Banner vs Native (per OpenRTB / IAB)
A banner is the most general display type — a self-contained creative of fixed dimensions (a static image, HTML, or expandable unit) that fills a slot of a set width × height. You just drop it in.
A native ad is component-based rather than a fixed creative. The response carries the ad's assets — title, main image, icon/logo, and a call-to-action — and you render them into your own template, so the ad blends into the surrounding content (e.g. a sponsored card in a feed). OpenRTB introduced native in version 2.3 with a companion Dynamic Native Ads spec.
A banner arrives ready to show at a fixed size; a native arrives as parts you assemble to match your UI.
Pick your rendering path
Display Ads have two paths, chosen per surface. The Web SDK is present in both — the only difference is who draws the ad.
| Web SDK rendering (recommended) | Ad API (self-rendered) | |
|---|---|---|
| You implement | Add the Web SDK + an ad container (data-bob-id) | Add the Web SDK (targeting + tracking), call the Ad Request API, and render the ad yourself |
| Handled for you | The SDK fetches, renders, and tracks the ad | The Ad Request API serves the creative; the SDK handles targeting + tracking |
| Best for | Web, PWA, blogs, and other browser-rendered surfaces | Native apps and marketplaces with heavy UI customization and full control over rendering |
| Guide | Render Display Ads with the Web SDK | Request and render Display Ads |
Next steps
- Start here — Render Display Ads with the Web SDK, or Request and render Display Ads if you draw the ad yourself.
- Then — Track ad impressions and clicks, shared by both paths.
- Confirm identity — Web SDK reference → Identity.
- Look up slot types and sizes — Ad Slots & Formats.