I would suggest clearing your browser cache Lisa, CTRL + SHIFT + DELETE. Then get yourself an ad blocking extension, AdBlock or Adblock Plus are popular. Your browser may even have one built in.
The fact that those ads are where the PLAY NOW button usually is, says to me that the flash element (which is what the 'play now/friends list' is) has not even loaded into the webpage. The ads are not covering it, they have moved up the page from where they normally are, to take the place of the missing flash element.