A Rapid Shift from "Tv Adds" to "Internet Adds"

Recently an article caught my attention that said....

"MADISON AVENUE is fastening its seat belt as the cascading effects of the financial crisis begin to hit the advertising economy.
As consumers suddenly cut back spending on everything from cars to clothing to cold cuts, companies are reducing their "ad budgets" or shifting to lower-cost alternatives like "e-mail marketing" and "public relations".
That means layoffs at agencies, which since the dot-com bust have been carefully counting heads whenever clients start counting pennies.
Several big agencies have been reducing staff levels throughout this year. "

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/business/media/07adco.html?_r=1&oref=slogin


Thus, it seems as if things like e mail marketing and viral marketing are replacing the conventional style of marketing that was done primarily through advertisements (Tv adds, Billboards, neon signs etc). That's why small companies or the new entrants in the market usually resort to online promotion of their products, i.e., viral marketing. Since the trend of buying and selling online is growing popular everyday, companies feel it’s a cost and time effective method of product promotion.

However, MNCs and other well established businesses still have high add budgets. I guess all this depends on the sales of the product itself. A company might be ready to spend excessively high costs on advertising a product if it is a “cash cow” and is reaping the maximum sales revenue.