Reports of Banner Ad Death Greatly Exaggerated

A recent post on VideoInsider (registration required--boo!) by Chris Young heralds the end of the banner ad and the dawn of the webisode as a means for advertising. It’s an interesting idea and one I personally sympathize with as someone who focuses on content strategies and user experience but I have to wonder if it’s just a little too early to start the funeral. I do agree that the days of banner ads as the preeminent channel for digital mass advertising are numbered. I mean, when was the last time YOU clicked on a banner ad? Now ask your kid the same question. As Young points out, younger users are particularly adept at screening out banner advertisers. It is second nature to them. What’s more, they’re also keenly interested in unique, creative content they can interact with and forward to friends. But Young’s article also hits a salient point with a quote from the inspiration of his post, a Fortune 100 executive who points out that he’s, “the producer and seller of Product X, which does A, B and C…and not the producer of great video content." It’s like Don Draper said, “I don’t sell advertising, I sell products.” Arguably every product has a story to tell, otherwise there’s no reason for it to exist. It MUST fill some sort of need or there’s no point. But some products have a more compelling story to tell than others and those stories are more suited for rich media. Companies and marketers need to be realistic about that and understand that sometimes the sexiest execution isn’t always the most efficient.