Describing himself as the 'minister for advertising', Burnham said the industry is facing up to challenging times as old media collides with new media, a release issued by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) said.
Online advertising doesn't have the 'familiar anchors' that regulation has in the traditional media world, said Burnham.
"Government is moving away from thinking online is ungovernable," he said.
"We are in a period when we need to establish societal norms. I don't think we are there yet; we'll get there in a self-regulatory way. The stakes in the ground are not quite there, that is something we need to address together."
If the industry acts responsibly, it will 'get full support of the government', advised Burnham, who said he could see the benefit of behavioural targetting online, but that this would require 'informed consent' and raises issues of privacy and civil liberty.
There is a need for greater transparency in online advertising and the industry needs to look at the 'point of balance and social responsibility to give parents and consumers more confidence online', he added.
"British viewers don't want blurring of content and advertising," he said.
Creative industries are becoming 'mainstream to the economy' and the government must 'nurture' their talent, strength and growth to 'compensate for what we are losing in other areas,' he added.
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