As the internet delivers us into futurity, it seems likely that more subtle kinds of advertising will become the norm. While advertising companies have been wrong-footed by the web in a number of ways, they are at the point of figuring out formats that work online—and they do not involve the ‘interruptive’ advertising just described. In this new landscape, we can anticipate three changes that will mean advertising and entertainment will converge into one.

On the Internet, There Are No Rules

Currently, there are an array of rules that regulate the ways advertising is presented to consumers. Many of them are designed to keep TV programs separate from the advertisements—product placement is illegal, and there are numerous regulations about co-branding, sponsored prizes, and so on.

On the internet, these rules do not apply. Newspapers have already made the transition to the web, and TV will not be far behind. Other rules, set by Google, Yahoo, or Microsoft might apply, but all of those companies have their interests fundamentally aligned with generating advertisement revenue. The laws designed to stop us from being buried under an avalanche of advertisements are about to become anachronisms.
But the new model raises a completely fresh concern: would not it just be more civilized for a nation’s cultural life to revolve around something other than deliciously crunchy breakfast cereals and not believing it is not butter? Even if you do think the benefits of bacterial yogurts are of paramount importance, the transition from entertainment and factual information that was once merely interrupted by adverts to content, which is simply a shop front, should be cause for concern.