Selling with the hot ad

I recall a debate I saw online about the value of the weekly ad circular. I would be curious what anyone in the produce trade thinks about the long term viability of the weekly printed circular, whether an email version will supplant it or whether it is relevant at all and likely to fall into disuse at any time.

In this economy, I would think that shoppers are using ads to "cherry pick" much more they did during economic boom times. Thus, more than a few people in the KC area are eyeballing these supermarket ads this week. Of course, suppliers and promotion bodies need the "proof of promotion" that the printed ads provide in return for supplier concessions to boost movement.