This could have a negative impact on the earnings of Google Adsense publishers. A text link with an image on the left would attract more attention of the visitor and is more likely to be clicked than the one without an image. And premium advertisors might be paying less per click. So your Google.com Adsense CTR may go up but the EPC may fall.

DigitalPoint members have seen favicon icons even in LeaderBoard style. See some screenshots of Google Adsense ads embedded with icons here or here
Try the free Favicon Generator - Simply select a picture, logo or other graphic (of any size, resolution) for the "Source Image" and click "Generate FavIcon.ico"