What is needed is a paradigm shift in marketing thinking. As it stands companies are willing to throw banners on everything despite the poor return on investment because they are running with the "saturate user eyeballs" strategy. The web as it stands is the equivalent of watching a movie and every car looks like a nascar with logos all over it.
we need to get back to genuine sponsorships. where companies are "proud to sponsor" a site because the content is awesome and engaging. instead of 20 sponsors take 2 or 3 and work together to create a user experience that both pushes the content and drives the brand. instead of slapping huge banners and deceptive text ads get classy and work the branding into the navigation interface.
i feel that when really good sites start getting these unique and exclusive sponsorships and the companies stop paying for saturation, we'll start to see a more evolved experience. and i'm damn sure the users will have more respect for the companies that run like this.