Although Tumblr refuses to call them ads, new advertising options are now available on the platform after five years of ad-free blogging.

Last month, the company announced that advertisers would soon be able to buy ad units on its dashboard. Tumblr made good on its promise and the first set of paid “sponsor products” are now live on the site.

Tumblr is using its Radar and Spotlight features to highlight content from advertisers/sponsors. Radar will display ads on the right side of members’ dashboards and Spotlight will feature advertisers on the site’s directory pages.

However, not all brands will be able to take advantage of Tumblr’s new advertising options. The steep entry-level price of $25,000 is meant to deter less desirable advertisers from placing spammy ads on Tumblr’s dashboard. To compare, ads on Twitter start at $15,000.

Additionally, you must get approval from the blogging platform, ensuring that your ads align with the “visual nature” of Tumblr. “We’re looking for the world’s greatest marketers and media companies to help us raise the bar for creative advertising on the web,” the company wrote on its sponsors page.

It’s too early to tell how members will react to these ads and how it will affect your success on the blogging platform. But with nearly 55 million users, Tumblr’s audience is an important target to hit.

[Via: Mashable, Image credit: Josh James]