Advertising Roundup: Campaign Search Ads, Reality Check for Mobile, and More

(MoneyWatch)  Obama bests McCain in search ads -- Only a few months ago, McCain had a huge advantage over Obama in terms of search presence. Not anymore. Mediaweek reports that the Obama camp has gone aggressive on snatching up ad opportunities related to keywords like "debate," "debate winner," and now terms connected to the financial crisis. [Source: Adweek]

Banner year for sports and advertising -- At least one segment of the entertainment industry benefited from the writers strike earlier this year -- sports broadcasters. With the Beijing Olympics, MLB, and the Tour de France all providing lucrative venues for advertisers, Optimedia ranks 2008 the "best ever" year for sports media. [Source: AdAge]

Mobile ad industry still immature -- Forecasts for the size of the mobile advertising industry vary widely, anywhere from $12 billion to $19 billion by the year 2011. Tech experts, however, see numerous hurdles in the way before the nascent industry will ever reach such heights. [Source: PC World]

National advertisers going local online -- According to a recent study, more than 40 percent of national advertisers are dedicating at least a quarter of their budgets to locally targeted advertising. The problem? They have no idea how to measure ROI. [Source: Wired]