By Jill Kaufman

Major trends in advertising are visible. Advertisers want us to know that they care about us, their consumers, our health and our happiness. They even want to show us the personality of their employees. The people behind the potato chips, for example, have families of their own and care about the nutritional value of their product.

I think it’s fascinating to see the mass media endeavoring to emulate the appeal of direct, which is one to one. They’re using that connection to drive emotion and enhance the connection to their brand.

It’s also interesting to see just how many advertisers seem to have changed their approach this year. The massive change hurts the appeal somewhat for me, because it looks so much like a company-wide strategy versus a brand distinction.

I could be cynical and say that brand advertising should be more fun, robust or otherwise alluring. But, in the end — true to my direct roots — I like it.