Quick. Name one outstanding ad that aired during the 2005 Superbowl. No Googling and no guessing Budweiser. Can you think of one? If you can’t, don’t worry. Your inability to recall an ad that aired during a months-old football game is normal. You have a life. Congratulations!

People forget. People lose track. People are busy. Remember that hilarious ad with those two guys for that thing? Of course you don’t and why should you? You and the rest of the Internet world have a hard enough time remembering where the car keys are. Who has the time or inclination to remember a one-shot text or banner ad?

"The more they see your ads, the more they begin to realize that your are serious about your business. Effective advertising involves patience and persistence."

Here’s the thing: Advertising works but it’s not an exact science and there’s no promise of immediate return on your investment. Advertising is a subtle art. You may not reach a customer the first, second or third time they see your ad. You might not reach them until the 30th or 40th. Just the same, the more surfers see your ads; the more they come to recognize your company. The more they see your ads, the more they begin to realize that your are serious about your business. Effective advertising involves patience and persistence.

Let’s revisit the 2006 Superbowl. Why did I tell you not to guess Budweiser? I told you that because everybody knows that Budweiser always buys airtime for the big game. They’ve been advertising during the Superbowl ever since the FCC allowed beer commercials on television. Budweiser is literally synonymous with the Superbowl. That’s not serendipity. That is a calculated marketing plan by Anheuser-Busch. The brewers of Bud know that millions of fans will watch that game and drink beer and they want that beer to be Budweiser. They know that if the Superbowl ad is especially good, it will be talked about for weeks, even months to follow. That talk leads to more brand recognition and brand recognition leads to sales.

Yes. Yes. Budweiser is the most famous beer in the US. How do you think that happened? The wonderful taste? Let’s face it, most American beers can’t hold a candle to the Dutch Grolsch or Mexico’s Negro Modelo. American beer is usually thin, bitter and pretty much only good for catching a buzz. American beer is served ice cold because American beer tastes like shit. Budweiser is world’s second highest-selling beer. The number one is Bud Lite. Why? Because Anheuser-Busch has been advertising the fuck out of their crappy beer for decades. They even had the nerve to sponsor the 2006 World Cup. This company has balls and bucks enough to garner themselves the title of Official Beer of the World Cup 2006 in Germany, the birthplace of beer!

One might wonder why does Budweiser need to advertise? Everybody knows about Bud. Why on earth would a brewer so famous and so successful need to continue producing multi-million dollar ad campaigns? The reason? Because people forget. If Budweiser were to stop advertising, their sales would go down, especially in today’s market of designer beers and small breweries. People won’t stop buying beer but they will stop buying Bud if Bud stops advertising.

Take a tip from Bud. If you want to run a successful online ad campaign, a one-month attempt will get you one month of increased sales - if you’re lucky and your ads are really catchy. If you want to keep your company’s name in front of the surfing public, you have to keep advertising. The moment your ads disappear, you disappear. Successful advertising is more than just providing a good product. You have to keep your site in the public eye or the public will forget you exist.

Advertising works because people are susceptible to suggestion. When your banner flies over a site month after month, people commit your brand to memory. When you run a consistent, long-term ad campaign, you not only promote your brand, you promote the idea that your company is here to stay. It’s practically impossible to brand a product with short-term advertising. If your ads aren’t producing sales after a month, don’t freak out. One month isn’t a long enough period to determine if a campaign or advertising venue is satisfactory.

Building an online presence takes time. Budweiser didn’t reach the top of the beer market in a month. It took years. It took consistency. It took determination. People forget. You have to keep reminding them over and over and over.