Philippe Beaudette wrote:
With all that said, the comments about the "opportunity cost" of running those banners on the world's fifth most-viewed web properties is an important one. It's one that we explored and will continue to explore. You may have noticed that we actually tried out two different "sizes" of banners, as well. I don't have any numbers yet to report as to whether the smaller size of the later banners made a different in the number or quality of the applicants; it's just too early to know.
As the person responsible for the latest banners, I look forward to your input at the ongoing RFC concerning their use.[1]
MZMcBride
[1] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Requests_for_comment/Global_banners