With traditional TV viewership down, ad agencies have no choice but to go back to basics. Billboards, subway ads, and in-store ads are second only to online advertising in terms of budget growth.
NYT poses the question of "pervasive versus intrusive". My worry is different: how fun/clever can print ads be? Video gives time to develop a story, there is an audio component, the ad can be complex. In cartoon form, the Budweiser frogs would be pointless, it's all about hearing the croaking. "Mamma mia that's a spicy meatball" isn't funny unless you hear someone saying it in a funny voice. Etc...
But hey, prove me wrong, advertisers! Let's see what you can do.