Rumours of advertising's death 'vastly exaggerated'

Oxford University's new professor of marketing has rubbished claims that product placement and advertiser-created entertainment programmes are the future of advertising.

The academic said brands became icons by telling stories that solved cultural contradictions and fitted the national mood and that despite vast changes to the media, the fundamental principles of creating iconic brands that struck a chord in the public imagination had not changed.

"There's not a lot of difference to how Marlboro was built in the US in the 1960s to how a great brand is built today, the fundamental principles are the same," he said.

"The 30-second advertisement on TV may well die but in five to 10 years from now sponsored film will be the dominant way to build iconic brands."

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