Quick, think of the best online ad you ever saw. What is it?  Thought so, you can’t. Okay maybe the BMW webisode or Whopper Challenge…but that’s about it. Know why? Because, for the most part, web ads aren’t that artful. Low cost, lacking in original music and idea, most leaderboards and rectangles are stilted, choppy and pretty ham-handed (whatever that means). The audio is usually sub-par and often stock.

McCann-Erickson was once the best shop in the world at creating original music for its clients. Today it’s a lost art; now agencies crow about buying music from the next Emo or House band. On the cheap. Music adds a richness and a tone to advertising;it becomes part of the story. Most people on the web don’t want audio in their ads.

The reason TV commercials still work better than any other advertising medium is the story telling. The casting. The stylists. Sounds design. Editing. TV commercials create emotional responses. Writing for a :30 must be perfect because the story is so short. Every word counts.

Digital advertising is a wonderful new medium in that gets consumer one-click away from purchase or inquiry, but today that ROI metric is overshadowing the potential artfulness of the medium. When ideas have to be bounced off the Flash editor, you know you are in trouble. Peace!