This likely isn’t the first time you’ve read that monumental change is in the air in the advertising industry. With more people getting their news and entertainment on the web — not from a TV or newspaper — advertising spending (and effectiveness) is shrinking faster than a wet cashmere sweater in a hot dryer. Then you’ve got the now-ubiquitous iPod cutting the legs off broadcast radio, while everyone’s favorite home electronic device — the DVR — is zapping what commercials were actually making into your abode.

Now comes the news that Volkswagen is saying auf wiedersehen to the $60 million ad blitz it launched last year to support its GTI model in favor of (toy drum roll, please) the $500,000 the company spent on an iPhone app.

You can read all about it in this Ad Age article. But even if you don’t read a word, you can still get the moral of this story: Ad guys better do some learning about mobile applications while there are still ad guys out there to learn.