Ads, and all that

There are ads that truly give you the right to choose, and then there are those that seek to make a moron out of you, the consumer. Some ads pass on into popular culture while a great many die instant deaths. So what makes a great ad, and how do you find out what the current trends are?

Click on the highlights of this week's column, which provide regular updates on what's happening in the global advertising space and how the craft is evolving. Both the sites have a heavy American bias, but they are more than worth a look because America dictates world standards in the business of convincing the consumer.

www.adcritic.com

This site claims to be the leading portal for the coolest, latest, breaking broadband ads direct to your desktop.

And even a casual glance will leave any user with the impression that these guys know what they are talking about.

A site that seeks to go beyond traditional advertising, Adcritic.com provides a platform for the judgement of offline advertising, both by members who can sign up for free, and by the folks behind the site.

Neatly divided into seven channels - Industry, Research, Creative, Television, Music, Movies and Politics - the site talks about the hottest and the latest in related advertising, accompanied by clippings.

The site is packed without being cluttered, and the content is structured in a racy and stylish manner. This site offers a lot of insight into where advertising stands now in the western world.

www.adresource.com

True to its name, this site is a goldmine of ad-related links and resources. Apart from the traditional media of print and television, it also allocates enough space to the world of online advertising.

Not surprisingly, given that it belongs to the Internet.com family of Web sites. The site's chockfull of links but they do not cause any more clutter than's possible on such a site.

There are plenty of resources on the latest news in the world of advertising, and links to tools, articles and discussions.

The site also carries plenty of information related to Internet advertising, such as traffic building, e-zines, mailing lists and newsletters.

Compiled by C. Ramesh

Please e-mail us at eworld@thehindu.co.in if you have queries on computer usage or if you find an interesting way of using the computer.