A while back, I wrote that display advertising is too complicated.  Today Google announced their entry into the display ad exchange business.  Both in their announcement and in this conversation with Neal Mohan from Google, the idea of bringing simplicity to the market is cited as a major driving force.  Google also describes the system as if it were the first display ad exchange ever.

Of course the reality is a bit different, with Yahoo/Right Media and others having offered exchange capabilities for quite some time.  For advertisers and agencies who have already been using exchanges this simply means that another exchange is available.  What remains to be seen is if Google can succeed in pulling smaller advertisers into display the way they did with AdWords and AdSense.

In the meantime, however, if the Justice Department is paying attention, they should stop wasting time reviewing the Yahoo-Microsoft search deal.  Google now has a complete display offering, so for there to be a credible second player that can cover both search and display, the Yahoo-Microsoft search deal is actually a competitive necessity.