Reflections On One's Own Ads

Byron Udell at Accuquote saw Burst's recent release about the attention-getting abilities of Internet ads and wonders aloud about life insurance ads. In the interest of full disclosure, Byron's company is a client of Underscore's. His post raises a few interesting questions, though. Is there really a stigma against "recycling" creative? I've been saying for years that it doesn't leverage the medium to its fullest potential when an agency puts shovelware TV ads online. Has the shovelware stigma moved beyond the trade and does it now exist in the mind of customers? Are brands mentally penalized if they use the same online and offline creative? Do people expect something different online?

The other big question I see emerging from this: What elements of online ads lead people to believe that what they're seeing is "cutting edge?" Is it cutting edge ad concepts? Or just the flashiness of a rich media ad.

Byron is wondering how questions raised by the Burst study apply to his own business, and he'd like some feedback about category ads you've seen.