Online advertising produced no memorable cultural touchstones.

Evidence

In the twentieth century, advertisements were often as memorable as the programs they accompanied. Slogans like “Where’s the beef?” became cultural touchstones. Online ads, by contrast, rarely attained such iconic status. Instead, they became vehicles for forgettable, low-quality products that emerged from the fringes of the marketplace. A good example was dietary supplements. Exempt from FDA regulation, these pills promised miraculous results without needing to prove their efficacy. Nutritionists consistently questioned their value for individuals with balanced diets, yet the industry ballooned to $30 billion in the United States. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 591

Categorization

• XREF: Directly relevant to the reader’s stated goal: this is evidence for the ‘omnivore monoculture’ thesis — ads that signal nothing precisely because they’re everywhere and target everyone. — connects to: Online ad technology harmed consumers while failing to reward advertisers generously. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1083; Viral content rarely becomes culture because it inspires no lasting devotion. — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 718