Automated method for causing ad content that is originally intended for display in an ad placement area of a web content page to be displayed instead within a fixed position in a viewport of a browser window for a predetermined minimum amount of time during viewing of the web content page

A method of displaying ad content within a web content page that is viewable in a browser window of a web browser, wherein the web content page is scrollable to allow a portion of the web content page to appear in a viewport of the browser window, and wherein the web content page includes a plurality of ad placement areas, and wherein the ad content is populated into respective ad placement areas, and thereby the ad content that is populated into an ad placement area that appears in the viewport of the browser window is normally visible to a viewer of the browser window, and wherein the ad placement area has a position property having a first value indicating that the ad placement area scrolls with the web content page, and a second value indicating that the ad placement area takes a fixed position in the viewport of the browser window and does not scroll with the web content page, the method comprising:

• (a) setting in a memory:
• (i) a predetermined minimum amount of time that ad content for a particular ad placement area of the web content page is to appear in the viewport of the browser window, and
• (ii) an ad content rendering time period;
• (b) detecting when a particular ad placement area has been scrolled into and out of the viewport of the browser window without being populated with rendered ad content;
• and
• (c) upon detecting that the particular ad placement area has been scrolled into and out of the viewport of the browser window without being populated with rendered ad content:
• (i) changing the position property of the particular ad placement area from the first value to the second value, thereby causing the particular ad placement area to be positioned in the fixed position of the viewport of the browser window,
• (ii) maintaining the particular ad placement area in the fixed position of the viewport of the browser window for a total amount of time that is at least equal to the sum of (A) the predetermined minimum amount of time that ad content for a particular ad placement area of the web content page is to appear in the viewport of the browser window, and (B) the ad content rendering time period,
• (iii) during the total amount of time, populating the particular ad placement area with subsequently rendered ad content that is associated with the particular ad placement area, the subsequently rendered ad content thereby lingering in the viewport of the browser window for at least the predetermined minimum amount of time, and
• (iv) after the total amount of time has passed, changing the position property of the particular ad placement area from the second value back to the first value, thereby causing the particular ad placement area to no longer be positioned in the fixed position of the viewport of the browser window.