There is an old advertising joke which goes like this:

a man dies and while he stands at St. Peter's doors an angel takes him on a small

tour of both Heaven and Hell to help him decide where he'd choose to go. Heaven

was all peace and quiet while Hell was full of nightclubs, loud music, beautiful

women and alcohol. The man decides he'll spend eternity in Hell but once he

passed Lucifer's door he saw a completely different place; screaming, suffering,

mutilated bodies, pain and hellfire. He tells Lucifer that wasn't what he saw

and signed up for and Lucifer answers:

"Yesterday, you were a prospect. Today, you are a client"

It is not a good joke but it is very characteristic of where the advertising industry stands right now.

Advertising, in all its possible formats, is in the middle of a major identity crisis. Huge amounts of

money are being spent every day on TV ad slots, online banners, mobile push

notifications, search results but believe me, no one knows what they are doing.

Brands dedicate a big ad budget every year because this is what every competitor

is also doing, ad and media agencies are trying to deliver good results on this

budget but no one can really say what the ROI is and consumers are caught up in

the middle of this, having lost all trust in advertising.

A vivid example of how people act towards advertising nowadays is the emergence of software

technologies, which enable users to block not only online display banners but all

TV advertising as well. The industry, instead of decoding the clear signs that consumers are sending,

condemns these kinds of technologies. But when you use Interactive Communication, properly

executed, things change, substantially. for the better!