There was a time when most TV commercials ended with the phrase ‘tafseelaat akhbaarat mein’ (please refer to the newspaper for details). It was a simple formula. Entice your audiences with the starter on TV and lead them to the print ad for the main course and dessert. So what has changed? I still see commercials on TV and ads in the newspapers. Well, in case you have not been paying attention, both mediums are now sending their audiences off to the web for dinner.

A lot is being said about the web and the future of advertising, but the focus is always on social media. Yet, the time has come is to rethink the whole thing. The web is more than social media and restricting it to social media is like saying that TV is only about entertainment. TV has been through many changes since its inception and the web is no different. From static HTMLs to integrated multimedia and live streaming and now TV viewing. And if Pakistani advertising and media professionals do not give the web the attention and respect it demands, I am afraid it might be too late.

Think about it.

If 15 years ago I had told you that the ubiquitous box-shaped TV set would be replaced by a slim line version that you could hang on your wall like a frame, you would have laughed. Yet today, this is a reality. What difference did it make to advertising and the media? Well, it brought a kind of freedom that went beyond the remote control. The space for the TV in a special corner of the house started to disappear and TV sets started appearing in every room. And these words started to echo in the household: “Papa can watch the news; I will watch the show in my room.”

If, 10 years ago, I had said that you would be spending most of your life online you would not have believed me. Yet today, we spend most of our lives connected to the web, either via the computer or on our smartphones.

As advertisers we used to be the forward looking people, the ones who were always ahead of the game. We were ready when TV evolved from a single state-owned terrestrial channel to privately owned multi-satellite, multi-genre channels. We were ready for the FM radio revolution. We were ready to embrace online editions of the newspapers. In short we used to embrace change as a process of evolution. So what happened?

Somehow this time we decided to put things in different boxes. Change came in the form of what we called digital media. We were scared and it showed. We separated our businesses by calling what we were comfortable handling, ‘traditional media’ (thereby making ourselves obsolete by the very definition). However, in order to retain our forward looking image, we decided to acknowledge this new form of advertising by convincing our clients not to ignore ‘digital’ and instead lock two percent of their budget for it. Aah, that was easy.

While we were busy safeguarding 98% of our budget we forgot something basic. Audiences started spending more and more time on the Facebooks, Twitters and YouTubes of the world (wide web).

#### There has never been a better time to remind ourselves of what we do best, which is to tell compelling stories, make ads and sell. We need to stop putting things in different boxes.

Now if I were to tell you that in less than 10 years there will be no such thing as offline, as we know it… well, I am afraid you have no choice but to believe me. Look around you. Audiences are hogging bandwidth, downloading episode after episode of their favourite TV shows so that they can watch them whenever they want to. Simply convenient. And recently Google announced it will be launching 100 online TV channels with free and fresh content. The implications of this change on ‘traditional media’ can at best be described as adverse.

Imagine what will happen to your casual and fixed spots, island and mid-break advertisements? Audiences now want things on their own terms. Why should they compromise their time with friends to watch a programme they can watch at their convenience? Audiences need no longer pay heed to anyone telling them, “Don’t go anywhere; we’ll be right back after the break.”

There has never been a better time to remind ourselves of what we do best, which is to tell compelling stories, make ads and sell. We need to stop putting things in different boxes. We need to up our game and understand that advertising and media go hand-in-hand and compatibility is the key.

My first boss always said to me, “Don’t come to me with a problem, unless you have a solution.” And the solution is to correct ourselves by saying (repeat after me):

“We in the advertising profession understand mediums; the media keeps evolving, but the power of a good idea will always reign supreme.”

Adnan Yousuf is Executive Creative Director, Interflow Communications. adnan.yousuf@interflow.com.pk