Traditional advertising is losing importance in the internet age
June, 03; 2025. By Arscodex
Today, in this article, we're going to investigate a fact that's currently taking place. It's that traditional advertising may be losing importance in the internet age, as its primary function—communicating the availability of a product or service—is being replaced primarily by instant messaging networks.
That is, "conventional" or "traditional" advertising, also known as "above the line," which consists of using large, untargeted channels to inform consumers about the availability of a product or service (for example, television commercials or outdoor advertising, which indiscriminately target the entire population), could be, as we've said, losing importance and effectiveness, as that function of informing (announcing, warning) is already being supplemented by instant messaging in the internet age.
That is, social media, for example, can make it possible for a message delivered by someone, such as Elon Musk, to be disseminated to the majority of the population in a matter of hours. For example, a specific tweet from this person can become widely known quickly and widely in a short period of time.
This directly affects the effectiveness of "above the line" advertising (the other, "below the line," could also be partially improved by all of this, since the internet encourages specialized and targeted messaging through algorithms, etc.). That is, traditional advertising, which is no longer as effective as it once was, back in the second half of the 20th century, when, for example, P&G was dedicated to sending indiscriminate commercial messages to the entire population via television.
So to speak, in general, in these times of the internet, if a product or service doesn't have a bit of "own" traction—that is, a movie doesn't perform well through word of mouth or the instantaneousness offered by messaging networks—it's best to consider its commercial run terminated, since no matter how much advertising you buy, sales won't improve.
It's true that when an entrepreneur sees that an idea works commercially on a small scale, advertising remains a good way to publicize that already-working product or service, to "amplify" and "accelerate" the commercial response to what is being sold.
But in general, advertising, and especially so-called "above-the-line" advertising, may be losing effectiveness overall in the internet age, mainly due to the immediacy of distributing the relevant message through direct messaging networks and other social media.
That is, "conventional" or "traditional" advertising, also known as "above the line," which consists of using large, untargeted channels to inform consumers about the availability of a product or service (for example, television commercials or outdoor advertising, which indiscriminately target the entire population), could be, as we've said, losing importance and effectiveness, as that function of informing (announcing, warning) is already being supplemented by instant messaging in the internet age.
That is, social media, for example, can make it possible for a message delivered by someone, such as Elon Musk, to be disseminated to the majority of the population in a matter of hours. For example, a specific tweet from this person can become widely known quickly and widely in a short period of time.
This directly affects the effectiveness of "above the line" advertising (the other, "below the line," could also be partially improved by all of this, since the internet encourages specialized and targeted messaging through algorithms, etc.). That is, traditional advertising, which is no longer as effective as it once was, back in the second half of the 20th century, when, for example, P&G was dedicated to sending indiscriminate commercial messages to the entire population via television.
So to speak, in general, in these times of the internet, if a product or service doesn't have a bit of "own" traction—that is, a movie doesn't perform well through word of mouth or the instantaneousness offered by messaging networks—it's best to consider its commercial run terminated, since no matter how much advertising you buy, sales won't improve.
It's true that when an entrepreneur sees that an idea works commercially on a small scale, advertising remains a good way to publicize that already-working product or service, to "amplify" and "accelerate" the commercial response to what is being sold.
But in general, advertising, and especially so-called "above-the-line" advertising, may be losing effectiveness overall in the internet age, mainly due to the immediacy of distributing the relevant message through direct messaging networks and other social media.