There are two stories that form an interesting yin and yang of sorts relating to Google and its place in modern advertising.

The first is this one from AdWeek that touches on how Google may be revolutionizing measured media, especially in light of their recent purchase of dMarc, an agency that acts as a third-party seller of radio ad time. There's not much there that you haven't already read a number of times about how Google could be the death of traditional creative agencies by reducing ad systems to auctions and algorithms.

What's more interesting is this report on a recent TV commercial from car maker Pontiac. At the end of the spot the voiceover narrator said, "Don't take our word for it. Google Pontiac and discover for yourself." While that was being said a screenshot of Google's front page appeared with the word "pontiac" typed into the search box.

This is groundbreaking and fantastic to me in a number of respects. First and foremost, it's an admission that the ultimate decision making power lies in a well-informed consumer and not with slick advertisements. That's a huge step forward and much better than making the assumption that a 30-second spot has given the audience all the information they need and they're just chomping at the bit to get in their cars to drive to the dealership. People are smarter and have more tools at their disposal than ever before to cut through the jargon and devices advertising relies on.

Secondly it showed just how synonymous Google has become with the idea of search. The spot didn't direct people to search the web or show a generic (and fake) computer screen. It showed the Google home page and used the company name as a verb. That's a significant watermark in just how pervasive Google has become in our lives and the thinking of Internet research.