Mr. Goldberg predicts that heavy dot-com advertising will contribute to a tight media inventory next year, which could push up prices.

Still, Ms. Lewis said she appreciated a lot of the dot-com advertising for its edginess.

We have, along with the dot-com advertising, consumer advertising and business advertising, liquor, cars, fashion.

"It's purposely not edgy like a lot of dot-com advertising you see," Ms. Seid said.

The trend is not unexpected if dot-com advertising is considered to be mimicking the model established by pitches for traditional products like packaged goods.

The would-be wryness of dot-com advertising seems to have invaded the dance world.

"There will be not just a lot of dot-com advertising on the Super Bowl, but all through the first quarter."

Buses and bus stops in most major cities have been taken over by dot-com advertising.

Meanwhile, the Internet, in the form of dot-com advertising, is driving their old revenue streams to new heights.

That, combined with the decline in dot-com advertising, helped push down the newspapers' advertising revenues about $17 million below the goal of more than $560 million.