“There Will Not Be Crazy, Flashy, Graphical Doodads Flying and Popping Up All Over the Google Site. Ever.”

“There will be no banner ads on the Google homepage or web search results pages. There will not be crazy, flashy, graphical doodads flying and popping up all over the Google site. Ever.”

– Google Vice President of Search Product and User Experience Marissa Mayer, December 2005, Official Google Blog

Former Googler (and current Yahoo CEO) Marissa Mayer’s emphatic statements don’t rate at the search giant anymore. This isn’t the first time the company has advertised one of its own products on its homepage, but today’s Nexus 7 ad is the most egregious example.

“The playground is open. The new $199 tablet from Google,” reads a line of text. Then a slit in the animated page opens, and a tablet pops up.

It looks a lot like a banner ad. Or maybe a Google Doodle.

The whole thing links directly to a Nexus 7 product page on Google Play.

Some have reported that this is the first instance of an ad or animated ad on the Google home page, but this has actually become a pretty regular practice (and a previous ad for Google+ was animated, as well).

But with unfriendly juries, new Kindles coming and the iPad mini on the horizon, what’s a little obtrusive advertising?