Back to the Content Future

How the ad industry forgot one of its core principles, and why it’s time for a content comeback
When did caring about where your ads run become some sort of an antiquated concept?

For easily a century, it was an indisputable principle: context matters in advertising. Fashion brands wanted to be in GQ. Beer and soda brands on NFL games, beauty brands in the pages of Cosmo.

It wasn’t just about being brand safe, or using editorial content as a proxy for audience measure. Ad men and women knew that context had power. Reaching consumers in a particular state of mind that could only be achieved by understanding the content environment they were in was an integral part of an effective . . .