How Does Advertising Work?

I just read Hernan Lopez' article in Ad Age "Why Interactive Advertising Needs a Creative Revolution". Two interesting points made me think. The first: advertising can't make a product better. Advertising is only a vehicle to create a lift in product sales. Second: in online advertising, we need to look to the research that has been done for TV over the years. Mr Lopez mentioned there are three things that make a successful TV commercial based on the research done by John Philip Jones and Erwin Ephron. Mr. Jones concluded the three important aspects to a successful commercial are: "They are entertaining and amusing; they are visual rather than verbal; and they say something important and meaningful about the brand being advertised.". This has given me a new measure on how to create and evaluate a successful marketing campaign. The bigger point here is that interactive is only another medium in your marketing mix. Not an ultra special marketing vehicle all by itself.