Last week, I noted that Internet ad spending had dropped five in the first three months of the year, and wondered when Web ads might rebound. Here’s a data point for optimists in the “soon, real soon” camp: Procter & Gamble, the world’s biggest marketer, is pouring more into Web ads than ever. Last quarter it increased its spending on Internet display ads by nearly 150 percent.
Last fall, a small but vocal group of Twitterers managed to shame Johnson & Johnson into apologizing for one of its Motrin ads.
This weekend’s replay: a howl of outrage, amplified and directed via Twitter at Amazon, which may or may not have instituted a boneheaded policy regarding “adult” books on its site. Or “adult” books aimed at gay and lesbian readers. Or something.
No matter what really happened, the retailer is now in a real pickle.
Good thing we’ve resolved the global financial crisis, the global terror crisis, and the global warming crisis. Otherwise the blogosphere wouldn’t have had time to rail about a Web video ad campaign from Motrin over the weekend.
Peter Kafka has been covering media and technology since 1997, when he joined the staff of Forbes magazine. Most recently, he has been the managing editor of the tech and media Web site, Silicon Alley Insider. Read more »
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