Displaying remote URL results using plugin?

[exCIA]

Is it possible to use a plugin to display the output of another URL?

I ask because I need to include sponsorships/ads in the header area, and the ad generation code I use does not seem to work in the plugin by itself (it creates a connection to MS SQL Server on another box, runs a procedure, displays the results).

I would much prefer to be able to run the PHP ad generation code directly, but when I include it in the plugin, nothing renders.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Jeff