Thank you for the additions everyone.
When my kids were little, spanking equated to nothing more than a few pops on their thickly-padded didies, making more of a loud noise than anything, which 99% of the time got their attention and redirected their focus, but as they got older, the luxury of sporting a padded little bottom as they did as babes, was gone, so spankings stood for more. They wielded more meaning.
Would I spank again today if I were raising a young family? I'd say, yes, and I'd probably practice the same method I used back in the day, because I like to think it worked in our home. Sure, there will always be kids who fail to respond no matter what sort of punishment is administered, but then there are kids (like mine) who just needed an occasional reminder every now and then.
By the way, I was spanked, as were my siblings, then again, back in the 50's and 60's, spanking was the norm, as so many of us know.