I was traveling last week just outside of Philadelphia -- and whenever I travel, I make it a point to observe how the local population interacts with media, using this as a gauge of whether what we do on a day-to-day basis is yet relevant to the "average Joe." As it turns out, I had stumbled upon a quaint little town called "Media." What better town to study as a proxy for the "average Joe"!

I would like to discuss what I feel is the key to so-called "next generation" advertising. The goal of advertising will always be to increase sales, but the role of advertising has to evolve. Advertising is changing from the buying and selling of peoples' attention with only implied consent, to a system requiring explicit consent of the people. Sustainable business models throughout the media and advertising value chain will focus on how to seamlessly integrate, and even enhance, content with advertising. These will be sustainable; these will be the superstars.

Except for the broken hearts of a few million teenagers, the cancellation of "The O.C." elicited little surprise or anger from most folks. Industry pundits are speculating on reasons for the show's demise: its wide popularity burned itself out as it was no longer hip and cool, writing intended to spur ratings actually did the opposite, etc. etc. But, whatever the true reason is for the show's audience to leave and the axe to fall, the end of "The O.C." is a media omen we shouldn't ignore.

The hype over the high-definition DVD format war is picking up speed, according to blog buzz and news coverage. In the left corner, it's Sony's Blu-Ray, and in the right, it's Toshiba's HD-DVD! It's a juicy, high-stakes narrative that journalists and onlookers can't seem to resist: two main opposing sides, many impacted stakeholders, accusations and rumors, money and, yes, sex.

It's hard not to get caught up in the online ad market's optimistic frenzy these days. Online ad spending continues to grow at an extraordinary rate. More and more of the largest brand marketers, who were slow to the party, are embracing online campaigns. However, as well as the online ad market is generally developing, we also need to remain acutely aware of the many areas where we are not doing a very good job.

Internet TV is a dynamic landscape, but some of what we see as a viable medium now will inevitably become obsolete within the next 10 years. I foresee that while it is certainly worth our time to evaluate options within shifting devices such as TiVo as well as digital cable, I think it's safe to say that both of these are approximately five to seven years away from being an efficient place to advertise -- and 10 to 15 years away from becoming completely obsolete.

The coverage of Google's recent patent application has sparked an avalanche of speculation regarding the implications of digitizing outdoor advertising. What untapped potential will the ROI oracles of online unlock for an advertising industry starving for access to attention?

When you think about the fastest growing online businesses, what comes to mind? Chances are many of you included Netflix in your list. The company has revolutionized how we rent and watch videos.

Dave Morgan recently argued that automated auction exchanges will not replace brand advertising sales--and he's right. For one, these algorithmic models are not good at helping marketers talk to consumers. But going further up the value chain, there's an even bigger reason: branded advertising increasingly will need to differentiate and justify itself less by impressions, and more by return on investment.

The past several years have seen the extraordinary rise of automated auctions in the sale of text-format search and contextual online advertising. There is a lot of open speculation around the industry as to whether this business model will eventually pervade the rest of the online ad industry. It's an interesting vision and one that may come to pass for some significant parts of the advertising and marketing world--but not for brand advertising, I don't think. Why? Several reasons.