Why the new generation of web companies aren’t advertising - and why I don't blame them

In his occasional spot, 'Crossing the line', Brian Millar looks at the new generation of web companies - and Web 2.0.

Why the new generation of web companies aren't advertising – and why I don't blame them

Brian Millar

A quick quiz: can you remember the names of the biggest failures from the dotcom bubble? Struggling? Here's the top four: Webvan.com, Pets.com, Kozmo.com and boo.com. Who were the biggest successes? That's easier: Google. Amazon. eBay. Hotmail. Now here's a thought. All of the former spent massively on advertising. Google and Hotmail have never advertised. Ever. Amazon dabbles once in a while, and eBay has only recently started. And if that's not bad enough, Tim O'Reilly has declared that if you...

Not a subscriber?

Schedule your live demo with our team today

WARC helps you to plan, create and deliver more effective marketing

  • Prove your case and back-up your idea

  • Get expert guidance on strategic challenges

  • Tackle current and emerging marketing themes

We’re long-term subscribers to WARC and it’s a tool we use extensively. We use it to source case studies and best practice for the purposes of internal training, as well as for putting persuasive cases to clients. In compiling a recent case for long-term, sustained investment in brand, we were able to support key marketing principles with numerous case studies sourced from WARC. It helped bring what could have been a relatively dry deck to life with recognisable brand successes from across a broad number of categories. It’s incredibly efficient to have such a wealth of insight in one place.

Insights Team
Bray Leino

You’re in good company

We work with 80% of Forbes' most valuable brands* and 80% of the world's top top-of-the-class agencies.

* Top 10 brands