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Support Center | AppLovin

Banner & MREC Ads

Banner and MREC ads are rectangular ad formats that occupy a portion of an app’s layout—often positioned at the top or bottom of the screen or placed inline within scrollable content. They remain visible as users interact with the app, allowing for uninterrupted gameplay or usage, and can be refreshed automatically after a set period.

The following sections show you how to load and then show and hide a banner or MREC ad.

Loading a Banner or MREC

To load a banner or MREC, create a MaxAdView object that corresponds to your ad unit. Then call call that object’s loadAd() method. To show that ad, add the MaxAdView object as a subview of your view hierarchy. Implement MaxAdViewAdListener so that you are notified when your ad is ready (you will also be notified of other ad-related events).

If your integration requires displaying MREC ads in a content feed, AppLovin recommends the following:

  • Create the minimal amount of instances possible.
  • Stop auto-refresh.
  • Manually refresh the contents by calling loadAd() (re-use the MaxAdView instances).

You can find an example implementation in the AppLovin demo app (Java, Kotlin).

Banners

public class ExampleActivity extends Activity
        implements MaxAdViewAdListener
{
  private MaxAdView adView;


  void createBannerAd()
  {
    adView = new MaxAdView( "«ad-unit-ID»", this );
    adView.setListener( this );


    // Stretch to the width of the screen for banners to be fully functional
    int width = ViewGroup.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT;


    // Banner height on phones and tablets is 50 and 90, respectively
    int heightPx = getResources().getDimensionPixelSize( R.dimen.banner_height );


    adView.setLayoutParams( new FrameLayout.LayoutParams( width, heightPx ) );


    // Set background color for banners to be fully functional
    adView.setBackgroundColor( «background-color» );


    ViewGroup rootView = findViewById( android.R.id.content );
    rootView.addView( adView );


    // Load the ad
    adView.loadAd();
  }


  // MAX Ad Listener
  @Override
  public void onAdLoaded(final MaxAd maxAd) {}


  @Override
  public void onAdLoadFailed(final String adUnitId, final MaxError error) {}


  @Override
  public void onAdDisplayFailed(final MaxAd maxAd, final MaxError error) {}


  @Override
  public void onAdClicked(final MaxAd maxAd) {}


  @Override
  public void onAdExpanded(final MaxAd maxAd) {}


  @Override
  public void onAdCollapsed(final MaxAd maxAd) {}


  @Override
  public void onAdDisplayed(final MaxAd maxAd) { /* DO NOT USE - THIS IS RESERVED FOR FULLSCREEN ADS ONLY AND WILL BE REMOVED IN A FUTURE SDK RELEASE */ }


  @Override
  public void onAdHidden(final MaxAd maxAd) { /* DO NOT USE - THIS IS RESERVED FOR FULLSCREEN ADS ONLY AND WILL BE REMOVED IN A FUTURE SDK RELEASE */ }
}

MRECs

public class ExampleActivity extends Activity
        implements MaxAdViewAdListener
{
  private MaxAdView adView;


  void createMRecAd
  {
    adView = new MaxAdView( "«ad-unit-ID»", MaxAdFormat.MREC, this );
    adView.setListener( this );


    // MREC width and height are 300 and 250 respectively, on phones and tablets
    int widthPx = AppLovinSdkUtils.dpToPx( this, 300 );
    int heightPx = AppLovinSdkUtils.dpToPx( this, 250 );


    adView.setLayoutParams( new FrameLayout.LayoutParams( widthPx, heightPx ) );


    // Set background color for MRECs to be fully functional
    adView.setBackgroundColor( «background-color» );


    ViewGroup rootView = findViewById( android.R.id.content );
    rootView.addView( adView );


    // Load the ad
    adView.loadAd();
  }


  // MAX Ad Listener
  @Override
  public void onAdLoaded(final MaxAd maxAd) {}


  @Override
  public void onAdLoadFailed(final String adUnitId, final MaxError error) {}


  @Override
  public void onAdDisplayFailed(final MaxAd maxAd, final MaxError error) {}


  @Override
  public void onAdClicked(final MaxAd maxAd) {}


  @Override
  public void onAdExpanded(final MaxAd maxAd) {}


  @Override
  public void onAdCollapsed(final MaxAd maxAd) {}


  @Override
  public void onAdDisplayed(final MaxAd maxAd) { /* DO NOT USE - THIS IS RESERVED FOR FULLSCREEN ADS ONLY AND WILL BE REMOVED IN A FUTURE SDK RELEASE */ }


  @Override
  public void onAdHidden(final MaxAd maxAd) { /* DO NOT USE - THIS IS RESERVED FOR FULLSCREEN ADS ONLY AND WILL BE REMOVED IN A FUTURE SDK RELEASE */ }
}

Loading and Showing a Banner or MREC in Layout Editor

Alternatively, you can add MAX banners or MRECs to your view layout XML. Ensure that your ads are fully functional by setting a background or background color (android:background). In the case of banners, stretch the width (android:layout_width) to the width of the screen. In the case of MRECs, set android:adFormat accordingly:

<com.applovin.mediation.ads.MaxAdView
  xmlns:maxads="http://schemas.applovin.com/android/1.0"
  maxads:adUnitId="«ad-unit-ID»"
  android:background="@color/banner_background_color"
  android:layout_width="match_parent"
  android:layout_height="@dimen/banner_height" />

Declare the base banner height of 50dp in res/values/attrs.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
  <dimen name="banner_height">50dp</dimen>
</resources>

Declare the tablet banner height of 90dp in res/values-sw600dp/attrs.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
  <dimen name="banner_height">90dp</dimen>
</resources>

You still must call loadAd() on the MaxAdView you create in this way:

MaxAdView adView = findViewById( R.id.ad_view );
adView.loadAd();

Destroying Banners and MRECs

If you no longer need a MaxAdView instance, call its destroy() method to free resources. This may be the case, for example, if the user purchases ad removal. Do not call the destroy() method if you use multiple instances with the same Ad Unit ID.

adView.destroy();

Adaptive Banners

Adaptive banners are responsive banners with heights that derive from the device type and the width of the banner. You integrate adaptive banners in a similar way to how you integrate regular banners. However, you must set the height to the value returned by MAAdFormat.banner.adaptiveSize.height rather than to a constant like 50 or 90. Before you load the ad, set the banner extra parameter adaptive_banner to true as shown in the code below:

void createBannerAd()
{
  adView = new MaxAdView( "«ad-unit-ID»", this );
  adView.setListener( this );


  // Stretch to the width of the screen for banners to be fully functional
  int width = ViewGroup.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT;


  // Get the adaptive banner height.
  int heightDp = MaxAdFormat.BANNER.getAdaptiveSize( this ).getHeight();
  int heightPx = AppLovinSdkUtils.dpToPx( this, heightDp );


  adView.setLayoutParams( new FrameLayout.LayoutParams( width, heightPx ) );
  adView.setExtraParameter( "adaptive_banner", "true" );


  // Set background color for banners to be fully functional
  adView.setBackgroundColor( «background-color» );


  ViewGroup rootView = findViewById( android.R.id.content );
  rootView.addView( adView );


  // Load the ad
  adView.loadAd();
}

Setting a Custom Width

For more specific integrations, you can set a custom width by using the local extra parameters API (as of Google adapter version 21.5.0.3 and Google Ad Manager adapter version 21.5.0.2). You can fetch the appropriate height for your custom adaptive banner by using the adaptive size API.

int width = 400;
int heightDp = MaxAdFormat.BANNER.getAdaptiveSize( width, context ).getHeight();
⋮
adView.setLocalExtraParameter( "adaptive_banner_width", width );

Inline Adaptive Banners

Adaptive banners are anchored by default. Alternatively, you can enable inline adaptive banners, which are meant to appear in scrolling content. Inline adaptive banners are typically larger and taller than anchored adaptive banners. They have variable heights that can extend to the full height of the device screen.

Inline adaptive banners are supported starting with Android adapter version 23.2.0.1. To enable, set the extra local parameter adaptive_banner_type to inline, as shown in the code below:

adView.setLocalExtraParameter( "adaptive_banner_type", "inline" );

You may want to set a maximum height, in dp, for your inline adaptive banners. You can do this with code like the following, which uses a height of 100 dp as an example:

adView.setLocalExtraParameter( "inline_adaptive_banner_max_height", 100 );

You may need to configure your UI in a way that depends on the adaptive banner size. If so, you can retrieve the width and height of the loaded ad, in dp, with code like the following:

@Override
public void onAdLoaded(final MaxAd maxAd)
{
  AppLovinSdkUtils.Size adViewSize = maxAd.getSize();
  int widthDp = adViewSize.getWidth();
  int heightDp = adViewSize.getHeight();
}

Inline Adaptive Banners in MRECs

You can use inline adaptive banners in MREC ad spaces, starting with Android adapter version 23.6.0.3. However, for MRECs, the adaptive banner must be inline, not anchored, to function properly.

Inline adaptive banners in MREC placements span the full width of the screen and may have a variable height that can exceed the standard MREC dimensions. You can set an optional maximum height by setting the extra local parameter inline_adaptive_banner_max_height. You can configure an inline adaptive banner for an MREC placement with code like the following:

void createMRecAd()
{
  adView = new MaxAdView( "«ad-unit-ID»", MaxAdFormat.MREC, this );
  adView.setListener( this );


  // Stretch to the width of the screen for adaptive MRECs to be fully functional
  int width = ViewGroup.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT;


  // The height can exceed the standard MREC height
  int heightPx = AppLovinSdkUtils.dpToPx( this, 250 );


  adView.setLayoutParams( new FrameLayout.LayoutParams( width, heightPx ) );
  adView.setExtraParameter( "adaptive_banner", "true" );
  adView.setLocalExtraParameter( "adaptive_banner_type", "inline" );


  // Optional: Set a maximum height for the adaptive banner.
  // Google recommends a height greater than 50, with a minimum of 32 and a maximum equal to the screen height.
  // The value must also not exceed the height of the MaxAdView.
  adView.setLocalExtraParameter( "inline_adaptive_banner_max_height", 200 );


  // Set background color for adaptive MRECs to be fully functional
  adView.setBackgroundColor( «background-color» );


  ViewGroup rootView = findViewById( android.R.id.content );
  rootView.addView( adView );


  // Load the ad
  adView.loadAd();
}

Stopping and Starting Auto-Refresh

You may want to stop auto-refresh for an ad. This may be the case when you hide an ad or when you want to manually refresh. Stop auto-refresh with the following code:

// Set this extra parameter to work around SDK bug that ignores calls to stopAutoRefresh()
adView.setExtraParameter( "allow_pause_auto_refresh_immediately", "true" );
adView.stopAutoRefresh();

Start auto-refresh for an ad with the following code:

adView.startAutoRefresh();

Manually refresh the ad contents by calling loadAd(). You can do this only if you have previously stopped auto-refresh.

adView.loadAd();
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