Economist: High Hopes in Adland

Excellent analysis of the sea change presently underway in the world of advertising. Expresses cautious optimism, saying the U.S. TV market just had a strong upfront sales cycle, which has bouyed the overall ad industry's spirits for Q4 (not to mention similar good news recent vis-a-vis radio ads: NYT piece). The Economist goes on to suggest that for many reasons, the health of the industry remains precarious, both because of temporary threats (war, double-dip recession, etc.) as well as systemic changes underway in the ad industry regardless, e.g., a shift away from television to cheaper, more effective vehicles (direct, guerrilla, product placement and online).

Unfortunately, the Net gets short shrift in the whole piece, but it's a good overview of grander industry issues in any event.