By: Janeen Martin, Sales/Marketing Manager

I was wrong.  I thought the battle over who attracts the most eyeballs — traditional media or digital platforms — was all talked out. Done. Over.

But last week search engine giant Google bought a print ad in Canada’s Globe and Mail newspapers telling readers why newspaper ads don’t work. Okay, maybe it didn’t mean that they don’t totally work, but you get the point.

“You know who needs a haircut?” it reads, “People searching for a haircut.  Maybe that’s why ads on Google work.”

An unconventional and totally unexpected move but still, I thought the placement of this ad was brilliant. In today’s digital age, with social networking, SEM/SEO and the like, I can’t remember the last thing that quite caught my attention like this print ad from Google. Who knew?

Like anyone else in the marketing industry, I love the popular TV show, Mad Men. What’s interesting is that Don Draper and his advertising agency are portrayed as something simultaneously timeless and a thing of the past. We seem to scoff at the idea of someone TELLING us what to buy. But if you can just picture, for a moment, Don schmoozing a couple of high-power Google execs at NYC’s  latest swankiest restaurant, you could probably write the scene yourself. Don ends with a “…Maybe that’s why ads on Google work.” A twinkle in his eye, a crooked, told-ya-so smile.

Cue the first round of scotch … straight up.