In the inaugural issue of the Journal of Interactive Advertising,[1] editors Li and Leckenby (2000) defined interactive advertising as the "paid and unpaid presentation and promotion of products, services and ideas by an identified sponsor through mediated means involving mutual action between consumers and producers".
This in turn means that many of the traditional elements of advertising impact and effectiveness remain relevant, even within the scope of interactive media.
According to Thorson (1996), all advertisements can be classified into one of five basic categories, including product/service, public service announcement, issue, corporate and political.
In fact, a number of researchers and practitioners argue that consumers have more control on the Internet than do advertisers (Roehm & Haugtvedt, 1999).
Some have gone so far as to argue that interactive marketing and advertising techniques will not work unless practitioners "step into the shoes" of and approach the Internet from the consumer's vantage point (Cross & Smith, 1997).