This is the end…but not really

It’s a good thing I only have to write three more entries for this blog. Not because I want to get it over with. Rather, I’ve come to enjoy my bi-weekly rants. The reason I’m glad is because, according to a November report by Global Business Services, my blog topic may soon be obliterated, at least in the traditional sense.

The report for IBM entitled “The End of Advertising as We Know It,” predicts that the way companies do advertising is about to change drastically, with traditional methods going the way of the dinosaur to make way for more interactive approaches.

To quote an online article that covered the report, “traditional advertising players risk major revenue declines as budgets shift rapidly to new, interactive formats, which are expected to grow at nearly five times that of traditional advertising.”

Another article by The Times (London) reports that the Internet is going to “overtake magazines to become the world’s third-largest advertising medium” after television and newspapers, by 2010.

Apparently, as we consumers have gained more control over our technological devices, we have also become choosier about what kinds of advertising we will tolerate. Growing tired of “interruptive” ads like those of TV and radio, we now want ads that cater to our personal wants and needs, and that won’t take away from the activity we are engaged in.

Now, the interruptive part I can agree with. I don’t like commercials in the middle of my Gray’s Anatomy any more than the next gal (ironically, as I opened ABC’s website to make sure the show still runs, since I don’t really watch it, I was lambasted by a video-ad for Herbal Essence shampoo. Guess that’s what I get for trying to be hip).

However, as I touched on in a previous entry about ads on our mobile devices, I’m really not excited about the prospect of personalized ads. Maybe some people like the idea of having their shopping done for them, but for me, it just sounds like more money being spent on things I don’t really need. It’s akin to going to the mall for no particular reason; I know I’m going to buy something just because it’s there, not because it will serve any useful purpose in my life.

I guess, in my mind, personalized, interactive advertising doesn’t create more authentic choice, just more buying pressure.