Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has predicted that the 'future of advertising is the Internet' while speaking at the Engage 2005 conference, organized by the International Advertising Bureau. When asked whether he thought the online advertising industry would continue to see the phenomenal growth of the last few years, Bill Gates said he saw the debate between online and offline advertising as obsolete, because soon all media channels will be powered by the internet. As the boundaries blur between the virtual and physical world, Bill Gates stated “the future of advertising is the internet.”

When asked whether he thought the online advertising industry would continue to see the phenomenal growth of the last few years, Bill Gates said he saw the debate between online and offline advertising as obsolete, because soon all media channels will be powered by the internet. As the boundaries blur between the virtual and physical world, Bill Gates stated “the future of advertising is the internet.” Gates also outlined Microsoft’s vision for the next few years whereby all media will soon be delivered by broadband through High Definition screens. Content will be personalised and interactive allowing us to view what we want, when we want and how we want it, opening a wealth of possibilities for the marketer.