I'm not so sure of that. The problem with web-based advertising is that it is so damned measurable-- it's trivial to see if your ad is working or not (where "w

I'm not so sure of that. The problem with web-based advertising is that it is so damned measurable-- it's trivial to see if your ad is working or not (where "working" is defined as leading to a conversion appropriate to the task at hand.) In the old days, a company might pay $X to run a print ad, and suspect that it was helping business, and then run it again, etc. Now, it's trivial to know for sure, one way or the other. Which means that ad prices get tied to actual effectiveness, not to some amorphous notion of "prestige". In other words: a lot of print advertising was horribly overpriced. I don't think a cartel is going to be able to put that toothpaste back into the tube....