At Healthline, we used mid-article and pop-up ads to drive email registrations, increase affiliate traffic, and drive direct-to-purchase conversions for our partner site, the Optum Store. Working closely with product design, my team brought the same visual thinking we used across our content to these performance-driven placements, using custom illustration, playful design, and lifestyle photography from our in-house studio.

The goal was simple: make ads people actually wanted to engage with. Newsletter sign-ups offered a glimpse of the thoughtfully designed content waiting in their inbox, while commerce units featured products in an approachable, lifestyle-driven way. They performed like ads without screaming “ad.”