The Transformation of the Advertising Industry in the ‘Un-tact’ Digital Technology Era

Abstract

The advent of the “un-tact 2.0 era,” described as a “new normal non-face-to-face social relationship,” accelerates the transformation of the living paradigm as a fully digital mediated social relationship. The emergence of these new forms of digital behaviors and mediated relationships significantly influences the industry prospect and consumers’ individual lives. Advertising has played a decisive role in moving the formation forces of society, creating a dynamic flow of the capitalist system across races and geographical boundaries. Its role will become more fundamental in the physical contactless environment due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Accordingly, advertising has changed and modified its shape and meaning throughout history to adapt to the dynamic external environment. In this article, we illustrated four primary stages of the evolution in the advertising industry from simple advertising to convergence of advertising. Finally, we also identified the challenges of the present advertising industry and the paradigm transformation of “un-tact 2.0” with various related examples.