AOL packs its bags for Manhattan, with emphasis on ads

Looks like the "A" in AOL actually stands for "Advertising." The once-mighty online media company has announced a shakeup that will place ad revenue squarely in its corporate crosshairs, grouping its advertising properties--Advertising.com, as well as the recent acquisitions of Tacoda, Adtech, Third Screen Media and Lightningcast--into a new entity that it calls "Platform A."

Former Tacoda CEO Curtis Viebranz has been appointed executive vice president and president of Platform A, and a statement from AOL asserts that this is "the final stage in AOL's transition from an access business to a global, ad-supported Web company." Unwanted CDs in the mail, we hardly knew ya.

In addition, the Gotham tech world will be getting a new tenant: AOL is moving its corporate headquarters to New York City from its longtime home of Dulles, Va., emphasizing in its statement that it wants to be smack in the middle of the advertising world. Offices in Dulles as well as Mountain View, Calif., will remain open.

The company's new headquarters will be in leased office space at 770 Broadway in the NYU-heavy, Starbucks-friendly gray area between the Union Square, East Village and NoHo neighborhoods.

New Yorkers: That means those of you who use the N-R subway stop at 8th Street or the 6 stop at Astor Place may have some new commuting buddies in the near future.