Drinking this latte sure makes me crave … shoe inserts???

Consumer goods manufacturers seem to be taking product advertising to a new level. According a recent Ad Age article, we shouldn’t be surprised if we find ourselves viewing ads for Dr. Scholl’s while enjoying a break at a favorite coffee shop or food chain.

Schering-Plough (which changed its name to Merck in a massive merger just last week) has reportedly taken a chunk of its TV advertising budget for consumer health products including Claritin, Coppertone, and yes, Dr. Scholl’s, and plunked it down on an experimental venue called “digital out-of-home” advertising, which includes digital message boards in places like restaurants, malls, and even taxis.

While TV spots will probably continue to be at the top of the advertising budget for health and consumer product makers, it’s not surprising to see companies branching out into new venues in this growing age of information advancements. I’m just not sure how well foot care products will market next to hamburgers. But time will tell whether this health care firm is boosting a trend or taking a bad risk.

While digital advertisement screens pop up in more and more places, the Internet also continues to grow as a leading alternative advertising venue. We all know how annoying banner and pop-up ads are when you’re trying to surf the web, but the tactic must work because they just don’t seem to be going away. Prescription drug firms may find that venue lacking though, as the FDA is working to increase regulation of web drug ads.

I imagine that consumer product makers will have to continue to be creative and innovative when it comes to advertising, especially with the popularity of TiVo and digital records that block out ads. Who knows what will come next?

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Photo by Journeys Coffeehouse under a Creative Commons license.