As the Car Guys say, I just ‘wasted another 30 perfectly good minutes.’ This time I was enjoying nine of the most popular viral videos selected my friend Jim Nichols for his blog at imediaconnection.com. Jim is senior partner, strategist at Catalyst:SF. We have been friends a long time and are currently competing for oldest surviving relic of what are now considered the ‘good old days’ in advertising. Jim also blogs daily about digital media at www.oldestliving.com. We can recall when you argued vigorously over whether the strategy was ‘good taste that’s good for you’ or ‘good tasting goodness’, prepared three commercials and headed for the bar. (This was after the Mad Men era by about 15 years, but I was trained by those guys. It is uncannily accurate in substance and detail.)

I am currently pondering the question Jim posed to me in an email a few days ago. Here it is:

As you know, digital’s share of brand marketing dollars is far smaller than the share of time consumers now spend with digital media. Are brands lagging, or is digital lagging in providing actionable solutions for brand marketers?

Mmm. It’s easy to say it’s because today’s marketers aren’t embracing new media, but I don’t think that would be right. The numerical case for digital media is too compelling. Millennials spend much more time online than watching TV. Yet TV is still the 800 pound gorilla. Why?

The more likely answer is that digital media has a hard time competing with TV as a branding medium, and branding is the main reason for using TV. Historically branding is not as accountable for immediate short term results, so TV often gets a free pass on ROI.

Before you jump on me about digital being a branding medium, I have seen the research, and let me be clear, I am not saying digital can’t be used for branding. It’s just that TV is/was so perfect: Captive audience, full sight, sound and motion. High production value. Trusted information source. Tremendous reach. Digital media, is well-targeted but lacks the reach and emotional impact of a full screen TV.

Digital media will get there. Search is already maturing as a medium. Online video is getting there. Social media which is now more social than media will develop some best practices that will attract the early adopters and late adopters, especially once word of mouth measurement systems become more standardized. Meanwhile, I wasn’t in advertising when there was still a ‘TV department’ and broadcast operations was done by admins, er secretaries, in their spare time. But Mad Men is a good reminder that this isn’t the first time advertisers have had to come to grips with something new.

Meanwhile, here is my favorite viral video from Jim’s list. If you want to waste, ahem, spend, 30 perfectly good minutes of your own, I recommend visiting his blog post today! It won’t be time wasted!