I managed to find a solution using this code:
initialize: function(options) {
/* initial options */
this.setOptions(options);
this.area = (this.options.status == 'out') ? $(this.options.loggedoutArea) : $(this.options.loggedinArea);
this.button = $(this.options.buttonArea);
this.button.addEvent('click', function(){
this.showHideBanner();
}.bind(this));
},
see also: http://jsfiddle.net/uA3Ak/