We mentioned in a post a week or so ago that, after remaining mostly ad-free since its launch last year, The Daily Beast had an advertising deal in the works. It looks like it’s been finalized. AdAge is reporting that the Beast is launching a month-long partnership with luxury brand Bottega Veneta using something called “breakthrough ads.”

Code and Theory, an interactive agency with offices in New York and San Francisco, developed the units. The campaign includes expandable rich-media ad units, as well as sponsored content.

The units feature several Bottega Veneta products, with text wrapped around them, eschewing a traditional square or rectangle layout. A wallet carries the words “click to experience.” Once readers click through, they are able to interact with different products, opening up screens that show how the products are made and linking to other products.

Finally! A farewell to banner ads. Also this is the third time since yesterday we’ve used the phrase ‘sponsored content’; merely a trend or a sign of things to come?