Online advertising is dead (or dying under the weight of its importance)

So, there's this, if you haven't read it. Um, well, er, ah - at the risk of being told I'm attacking the author - why does he own an iPod if not for advertising? Would the first iPod have been sold without it? And, has he heard of classmates.com? Did a friend tell him or did he see one of the million of (don't know what to call them other than) advertisements online? Perhaps he didn't join classmates but knowing about (classmates, iPod) is the first step to (joining/buying). Demand generation begets the need for demand fullfillment.  Now, I've said that online brand advertising for demand generation that comes in the form of paid display ads or sponsorships on web sites won't work but, well, his view certainly is thought-provoking.