The Google AdSense team sent out a letter today detailling their new position on using images to draw attention to the ads on a publishers page.
“We ask that publishers not line up images and ads in a way that suggests a relationship between the images and the ads. If your visitors believe that the images and the ads are directly associated, or that the advertiser is offering the exact item found in the neighboring image, they may click the ad expecting to find something that isn’t actually being offered. That’s not a good experience for users or advertisers,” the email stated.
The information can also be found at the Inside Adsense blog.
Details and examples are given so people cannot mistake what is being discussed.