Ad Deals Lacking Logic

You know something's off when people keep talking about tipping points.

So it was earlier this month, when WPP bought 24/7 Real Media , an Internet ad company. WPP CEO Martin Sorrell said, "You can call it a tipping point if you want, but I think there has been a tipping point in terms of the realization of the impact of these technologies."

Two days later, Microsoft paid $6 billion for aQuantive (AQNT Quote), another Internet ad company. A Microsoft executive, Steve Berkowitz, talked about hitting a "tipping point" -- where the mix of the two companies could be leveraged into higher profit. ...