Back in May, I wrote a post about how a local Lexus dealer was wasting billboard space with a lame, overused headline.

It’s even more dismaying when a brand wastes a more creative space like a magazine wrap. Targeted Media, Inc. offers marketers the opportunity to make their product or service seem like the cover story on magazines like Time, Fortune, Money and People. It also gives them the chance to target very specific audiences in a way that is not usually available in these types of magazines.

I got a firsthand look at a very cool, innovative magazine wrap for CBS Interactive, targeted (or more accurately, microtargeted) at Mascola’s Media Dept. And boy did CBS know how to grab the attention of an industry segment made up predominantly of women – with a half-naked young man, of course. And, yes, there was a strong, relevant message just on his heels.

But as we browsed through the case studies in the Targeted Media media kit, it became apparent that CBS was one of the only brands that knew how to use this medium correctly. Most of them just wasted the opportunity to get really creative or maybe even do something a little (gasp) risque.

For example, one case study was for Provident Bank. Now I’ll admit, the numbers in the case study are great. Targeted Media conducts surveys to measure the results of their ad programs, and over 2/3 of the survey participants said they were now more likely to consider banking with Provident because of the ad wrap.

But I have to wonder if those numbers couldn’t be even better or more action-inducing. Because when you show a montage of old, white men with old, white hair and you have a headline like “We’re ready, willing and able to lead,” you’re not telling me anything that any other bank in this issue of Money can’t say about themselves. You’re just buying more and better ad space to say it.