The Internet has brought a change in what business people think about advertising. Many small businesses that I interact with see two fundamental types of advertising. There is classic advertising: ads promoting products on television, on radio, on billboards, in magazines, in newspapers, etc. And then there’s the new advertising: advertising on the Internet. Online ads are often considered non-traditional advertising and everything else is traditional advertising.

I don’t think this distinction is entirely accurate. I think that perhaps it’s giving the Internet too much credit. The Internet is just another channel–it in itself isn’t a new way of advertising. A banner ad on the Internet is no different than a billboard on the side of the road. Some people notice it and some people drive on by. A video ad online interrupts the viewer just like a commercial does on TV. Ads are ads, regardless of where and how they are placed.