diff --git a/r2/example.ini b/r2/example.ini
index a520edadd..614d68435 100644
--- a/r2/example.ini
+++ b/r2/example.ini
@@ -557,7 +557,6 @@ spotlight_interest_nosub_p = .1
 # map of comment tree version to how frequently it should be chosen relative to
 # the others
 comment_tree_version_weights = 1:1, 2:0
-# message blurbs for the front page sidebar gold ad.
-# use a '|' character to separate the title line from the smaller aside.
-# in the title line, '%(reddit_gold)s' will be replaced by a link.
+# markdown message blurbs for the front page sidebar gold ad.
+# use **strong** markup for a larger font, and "  \n" (<br>) to separate lines.
 goldvertisement_blurbs = "Make reddit better. Try %(reddit_gold)." "This year, give the gift of %(reddit_gold)s.|(and you should probably also give some other, better gifts)"
diff --git a/r2/r2/lib/configparse.py b/r2/r2/lib/configparse.py
index 64692e1dd..f2b2174ac 100644
--- a/r2/r2/lib/configparse.py
+++ b/r2/r2/lib/configparse.py
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ class ConfigValue(object):
     messages_re = re.compile(r'"([^"]+)"')
     @staticmethod
     def messages(v, key=None, data=None):
-        return ConfigValue.messages_re.findall(v)
+        return ConfigValue.messages_re.findall(v.decode("string_escape"))
 
 
 class ConfigValueParser(dict):
diff --git a/r2/r2/lib/pages/pages.py b/r2/r2/lib/pages/pages.py
index b5a2082a5..bbb8bcf76 100755
--- a/r2/r2/lib/pages/pages.py
+++ b/r2/r2/lib/pages/pages.py
@@ -3713,5 +3713,5 @@ class Goldvertisement(Templated):
     def __init__(self):
         Templated.__init__(self)
         blurbs = g.live_config["goldvertisement_blurbs"]
-        blurb = random.choice(blurbs)
-        self.blurb_title, sep, self.blurb_aside = blurb.partition("|")
+        self.blurb = random.choice(blurbs)
+
diff --git a/r2/r2/templates/goldvertisement.html b/r2/r2/templates/goldvertisement.html
index 757f89f29..dbd3a1bad 100644
--- a/r2/r2/templates/goldvertisement.html
+++ b/r2/r2/templates/goldvertisement.html
@@ -20,18 +20,10 @@
 ## reddit Inc. All Rights Reserved.
 ###############################################################################
 
-<%namespace file="utils.html" import="tags, text_with_links"/>
+<%namespace file="utils.html" import="text_with_links, md"/>
 
 <div class="goldvertisement">
   <div class="inner">
-    <p>
-      <strong>
-        ${text_with_links(thing.blurb_title,
-            reddit_gold=dict(link_text="reddit gold", path="/gold/about"))}
-      </strong>
-      % if thing.blurb_aside:
-        <br><i>${thing.blurb_aside}</i>
-      % endif
-    </p>
+    ${md(thing.blurb)}
   </div>
 </div>