Creative genius doesn't happen in seclusion, usually.

Bingo! "We know all the tools in the toolbox but don't know how to properly use them," Michael Takeshita, Creative Director, TBWA\Chiat\Day.

Putting QR codes on online banner ads is an example of advertising folks getting "too clever for their own good," according to Michael Takeshita, who said he has seen this done -- and dismissed it as "laughable."  Personally, in keeping with the theme of the panel, it makes me want to cry.

You don't hear advertising described this way very often:

When's the last time you went online to find an ad? A panel of industry experts at the OMMA Premium Display Digital conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday discussed the state of digital storytelling to create emotions. Traditional story telling doesn't allow viewers to jump to the middle or the end of the tale, but search and social do, making digital storytelling non-linear. Marketers need to learn how to integrate search and social media. Don't just tell consumers about the product, but what the brand stands for and how they fit into that story.

Nana is the nickname Turner Broadcasting System Executive Vice President of Turner/SI Digital Ad Sales Walker Jacobs uses to refer to his grandmother, and he told OMMA (Premium) Display attendees that she is his litmus test for when publishers jump the shark on targeting consumers with advertising via the so-called "audience-buying" marketplace.

Invoking one of the best lines ever from "Spinal Tap," Turner Broadcasting System Executive Vice President of Turner/SI Digital Ad Sales Walker Jacobs told OMMA (Premium) Display attendees that the IAB's "Rising Star" units, or any new premium online display advertising units, are like saying they're "louder because it goes to 11."

That's what Graham Harris, Senior Director, Product Marketing, Yahoo suggested during the Publisher's panel at OMMA (Premium) Display in Los Angeles this morning.

We all know there's too much display advertising inventory out there.

Wow - what an undertaking. How does the industry get to "scarcity"? At the OMMA Premium Display conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Mike Rich, VP of media at comScore, said companies need to reassess and revalue the network. They don't have a choice. It's important to remove all the worthless supply. The price of what remains will stabilize or rise. The remnant inventory is also undervalued, he said, though it hits the correct audience. "We think the CPMs will rise from $5 CPM to $6," he said. It should help to flat-line, stabilize or even growth the industry. Important …