Last fall, Madison Avenue joined the corporate ranks rushing to Second Life to open virtual branches. Leo Burnett Worldwide, Bartle Bogle Hegarty and AKQA were among agencies setting up shop in Second Life to assist clients, attract tech-savvy new employees and spur digital creativity. Above all, it was a way to showcase their Web 2.0 with-it-ness and willingness to experiment with new media.

We asked some of the participants in the OMMA New York: Worlds Collide conference for their opinions on interactive advertising's most critical issues, ranging from the state of metrics to the future of pre-roll ads to the best use of user-generated content.

Success in online gaming calls for a whole different kind of creative. Despite all the new options, some experts say marketers are squandering opportunities -- placing the wrong ads in the wrong games.

With the Little Deviant-themed campaign, San Francisco's ATTIK and Toyota's marketing group have positioned the Toyota Scion xD five-door sub-compact as -- in the words of ATTIK co-founder and group creative director Simon Needham -- "a badass."

In an age when many marketers and ad agencies are eyeing digital media as a way to connect with consumers and boost revenues, Carat president Scott Sorokin can be quiet on the subject. It may come as a surprise considering the digital prowess at his agency, where the menu includes CRM, mobile, media planning and buying as well as creative.

Few digital shops are as closely associated with a single client as Universal McCann's Los Angeles arm is with Sony Pictures. The theatrical group, the home-entertainment group, the TV group and more - UM handles All Things Sony Pictures in the digital space.

How ironic that competitive cycling is one of the driving passions of the man who plans much of General Motors' media buying. But Curt Hecht, executive vice president and chief digital officer of Starcom MediaVest Group and GM Planworks says bike skills come in handy when steering the U.S. auto industry through a challenging media and sales environment.

The notorious Toyota Scion - ugly outcast or gorgeous rebel? - may seem miles apart from the automaker's iconic luxury car, Lexus, but they do have one important thing in common: Each markets to a highly specific audience, almost to the point of alienating everyone else.

"Doritos" means "little bits of gold," and Frito-Lay hopes it's struck a vein with a new multi-year campaign that will stem a slide by allowing brand enthusiasts to help promote one of the country's most popular chips. Rather than having executives react to consumers' choices after the fact, the snack food giant is giving the end user direct influence.

When Carol Kruse took her first job at Clorox, the move didn't seem to position her for a career in digital marketing. But geography - specifically, Clorox's headquarters in Oakland, Calif. - trumped other considerations. Living so close to Silicon Valley brought Kruse in contact with the Internet in the early 1990s, just as the space was heating up.