The article focuses on non-standard advertising in modern altered media reality. Ambient media are a sociocultural phenomenon, which tends to be new and relatively underexplored in modern Russia. This phenomenon is considered from the perspective of structural-functional analysis and the theory of cognitive dissonance. The author has conducted in-depth interviews with representatives of the advertising community of Ekaterinburg (N = 22) to fi nd out their attitudes towards alternative media. The criteria for classifi cation of modern advertising media and their socio-cultural, communicative and psychological advantages are highlighted. The study showed the high viability of non-traditional advertising forms in general and explained why only a small number of ambient media projects are realized in Ekaterinburg.