Why Nonprofits Should Advertise

Dan Pallotta, a recent guest on NY Council of Nonprofit's online radio show, offered an interesting viewpoint on his new Free the Nonprofits blog with the Harvard Business Publishing about Why Nonprofits Should Spend Money on Advertising. As he relates:

This weekend the main sections of the New York Times and the Daily News contained big ads for Hummer, T-Mobile, AT&T, Macy's, Bloomingdales, and a host of electronics and furniture retailers. The home page of the Huffington Post right now is running an ad for Delta Airlines. On CNN.com it's Netflix. ABCNews.com — Choice Hotels. Oprah.com — Crystal Light beverages. No ads on any of these pages for Darfur, ending AIDS, or curing breast cancer — indeed no ads for any 501 (c) 3. This is not an anomalous day. Gigantic consumer brands advertise. Gigantic causes don't. Read more here.

He goes on to compare advertising between the corporate and nonprofit sectors, and the reasons why nonprofits should advertise. He even points out that the form 990 doesn't ask about advertising/marketing expenses. Do you agree or disagree with his point? Do nonprofits need an ad in the NY Times? How do nonprofits fight the perception that this would be wasteful or should they even try?