While a full page ad in your local newspaper might grab the attention of a few readers it is ultimately a numbers game. By that I simply mean not everyone looking at that page will want or need a haircut. Realizing the tragic flaw in print advertising Google this week took out a newspaper ad meant to attack traditional newspaper advertising.

Published in Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper the ad went after the paper and its fellow newspapers.

In the ad Google proclaims:

“You know who needs a haircut? People searching for a haircut,” and “Maybe that’s why ads on Google work.”

The ad was tweeted by reporter Steve Ladurantaye who provided the following caption:

“An ad for Google ads in today’s Globe demonstrates the value of print ads, yes?”

The ad really is a catch-22, on the one hand Google has a valid point about direct response type marketing, on the other hand the company also demonstrated that print media ads still have the ability to gain attention and ultimately work when implemented properly.

What might be most impressive about the ad was the newspapers decision to run its competitors ad spot, talk about completely transparent and fair marketing standards at the Globe and Mail.

Here’s the full Google Adwords newspaper ad: