Now almost without fanfare, online is suddenly claiming budget from traditional media and being heralded as a low-cost yet effective method of targeting customers.
From the point of view of media sales, 2003 has been a landmark year for online advertising. In the US, some web properties were included in the latest US upfront ad sales season, normally the domain of television advertising. And in the UK, advertisers spent almost one fifth more on online advertising in 2002 than in the previous year, with the online sales house i-level boldly predicting a 46% rise in 2003.
But is the creative side of the industry keeping apace?
At Cannes this year, the number of entries in the Cyber Lions category has fallen for the second year running, with 1,244 entries received from 40 countries. This is down by 7.4% on last year and more than 200 entries fewer than in 2001, the year entries peaked at 1,471.
And while one might expect the industry was maturing creatively, the number of Cyber Lions handed out in 2002 fell by 19%, while the number of entries declined by only 10%.
Mark Cridge, managing director of the digital agency Glue London and a judge on this year's Cyber Lions panel, is one person in the industry who thinks that creativity in online advertising has "still got a long way to go".
"Most online advertising is still quite poor quality, but there are some gems out there," Cridge said.
"It's not difficult to come up with ideas," he added, "but it can be difficult to execute them online. You need to understand what is and isn't possible, and that's changing all the time too."
But there are several positive signs for the online creative industry. Cridge is part of an initiative by the Interactive Advertising Bureau to promote creativity in the industry with a monthly Creative Showcase of the best ads online, and technology and advertising formats are improving, as are tracking methods so advertisers can see how effective their strategies are.
Cridge also said that there is a new injection of talent into the industry as younger teams embrace online advertising. "Younger teams are more likely to have online work in their book or on their reel now," he said.
The Cyber Lions are being sponsored by MSN for the second year running, a move that the portal says recognises the role of online in ad campaigns.
The decision to sponsor the event again comes after the success of last year's Cyber Lounge -- an internet facility at the heart of the exhibition.
Judy Gibbons, vice-president of MSN Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: "We came last year not knowing what reaction to expect from the delegates and, in fact, we were overwhelmed by requests for information about the various opportunities opening up for digital marketing."
The US has proved to be the dominant country, picking up eight awards in 2002 and 12 in 2001, but Brazil and Germany are catching up, and Sweden and Spain are also strong contenders. And it remains to be seen whether anyone can knock Nike off its perch as the Grand Prix winner for best website, a title the sportswear brand has bagged for the past three years.
While it's too early to be claiming that online advertising has come of age, with 2003 proving to be a landmark year in terms of online advertising spend, perhaps it will also be significant in creative terms.
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