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PASADENA, Calif (Reuters) – The recession-fueled advertising downturn underlines the urgency of using the Web to glean data and target consumers directly, rather than blasting them with a barrage of TV-style ads, media executives say.

As advertising dollars grow ever more scarce, companies have been forced to rethink how they reach consumers and have moved away from the traditional 30-second spot to the kinds of targeted, Internet-driven marketing campaigns that have been talked about for years.

Internet advertising in the United States -- a $23.4 billion market in 2008 -- was down 5 percent in the first quarter of this year…

As advertising dollars grow ever more scarce, companies have been forced to rethink how they reach consumers and have moved away from the traditional 30-second spot to the kinds of targeted, Internet-driven marketing campaigns that have been talked about for years.

Barry Diller, chief executive of Web giant IAC/InterActiveCorp, said Internet advertising must evolve from displays and become integrated into the content of websites.

Even actor and media producer Ashton Kutcher chimed in at the conference, saying the billboard-style display ad is already outdated.

"People who have grown up on the Internet have trained themselves not to see it," he added.

(Reporting by Gina Keating and Alex Dobuzinskis; editing by Edwin Chan and Andre Grenon)