Does the advertising allow you to "connect" with the consumer in an emotional way? Does it engender positive associations with the brand in the person's mind? Do consumers recall the product or service being advertised?

These are the questions folks in the advertising business used to ask, and now the cutting-edge craftspeople talk about things like click-through, targeting, tracking, and tweaking. In short, they're talking about technology.

But there's a big problem with that kind of thinking -- the kind of thinking that places statistics and reporting above all else. The problem is that numbers and technology -- while incredibly useful and important -- don't have soul.