That's the theory being tossed around by online advertising executives. See a comparison in this online ad stock chart. Moore may have a point. Analysts said struggling dot-coms were becoming more selective with their marketing dollars and forgoing traditional TV ads for online advertising.
Online advertising is more effective.
More money is going to online advertising. You'll be hearing that pitch a lot, especially since DoubleClick execs will present at the PaineWebber conference on Thursday. Moore noted that sales did slow in as dot-coms unraveled and the stock market slumped. He noted that advertising picked up in late May and the first week of June. Whether Moore can be optimistic based on a late May and first week of June ad pickup remains to be seen, but it does set up an interesting debate.