Shortly before Hallmark would have traditionally launched its seasonal commercial heart-warmers, the greeting-card giant made a surprising confession: This year, for the first time ever, it would spend nothing on holiday TV ads.

Instead, the struggling keepsakery’s ornaments division will go all-digital, spending on cheeky YouTube ads and partnering with bloggers to sing the brand’s praises. It is also paying the photo-sharing app Snapchat to plaster Hallmark’s logo onto family pictures taken beneath America’s big downtown Christmas trees.

Hallmark’s decision to forgo its decades of feel-good marketing was seen by many as another blow against TV. Where television ads are pricey and imprecise in their reach, a growing number of companies say, digital marketing is a cheap laser beam.

But in the holiday selling season, can the Web truly replace old-fashioned tear-jerker TV?

“When’s the last time a banner ad made you cry?” said Brian Wieser, a media analyst for Pivotal Research Group. “If you’re a greeting-card company, it sure better.”