The phrase "a modest ad" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe an advertisement that is simple, understated, or not overly flashy.
Example: "The company decided to run a modest ad in the local newspaper to promote their new product without overwhelming potential customers."
Alternatives: "a simple advertisement" or "a humble ad".
(Last month CNN reported a modest ad buy in Maine by the pro-Romney Super PAC Restore Our Future).
While those amounts pale in comparison to the tens of millions flowing into presidential super PACs, House primaries are small-scale affairs and a modest ad campaign can be pivotal, especially one that comes just before Election Day.
But how to stand out in a category no one really wants to hear about and with a modest ad budget?
A few days after you announce for mayor and take out a modest ad in the local newspaper, you get a challenger.
The company repeated forecasts for modest ad sales growth this year after improvement in the fourth quarter.
Although the gene encoding apolipoprotein E is most well established as influencing risk of late onset AD, several other gene polymorphisms have also emerged from recent studies as having a modest effect on AD risk (Table 1).
This agrees with the expectation that longer additions to the gene are more likely to be deleterious than short ones, but the effect size is surprisingly modest (Added AA mean = 6.87; Readthrough AA mean = 9.75; fig. 4 D).
As a writer living in Brooklyn and veteran of the Moth storytelling gatherings, Ms. Baker, 29, found herself in the center of a growing Mormon subculture, populated by creative types who dress like they stepped out of "a modest American Apparel ad," she said.
A.T. & T.'s ad, a modest black rectangle with rainbow-swirl borders, asked, "Have you ever clicked your mouse RIGHT HERE?" and proclaimed, "YOU WILL".
