According to MB, Web Advertising Ranks with TV 13/6/00 Recent research by Millward Brown Interactive reveals that Web advertising can be just as effective as television. In 1999, the company conducted the first test of streamed media advertising for Real Networks and its client 800.com. Streamed media is made possible by advances in compression software, which means that video and audio can be delivered over the Web in real time. The results showed a very strong and statistically significant increase in both ad and brand awareness. Since then, other tests with streamed ads have produced similar results. On average streamed media appears to be 5 times more effective than traditional ad banners. Qualitative comparisons suggest that it may be as impactful as TV advertising. Streamed ads appear to perform well, not only because of the novelty factor, but also because there is greater creative potential than with 'flat' web pages.