Advertising is a form of mass selling, and it is employed when the use of direct, person-to-person selling is impractical, impossible, or simply inefficient. It is to be distinguished from other activities and its aim intended to persuade the public.
Advertising techniques range complexly from the publishing of , straightforward notices in the classified-advertising columns of newspapers to the concerted use of newspapers, magazines, television, radio, direct mail, and other communications media in the course of a single advertising campaign. From its beginnings in ancient times, advertising has turned into a worldwide industry. In the U.S. alone in the late 1980s, approximately $120 billion was spent in a single year on advertising to influence the purchase of commodities and services. Advertising falls into two main categories: consumer advertising, directed to the final purchaser, and trade advertising, in which the appeal is made to dealers through trade Journals and other media.
Both consumer and trade advertising employ many specialized types of commercial persuasion. A relatively minor, but important, form of advertising is institutional advertising, which is designed mainly to build prestige and public respect for particular business concerns as important institutions. Each year millions of dollars are spent on institutional advertising.
Another minor, but increasingly popular, form of advertising is cooperative advertising. For example, makers of milk, of pie, and of sausages sometimes jointly advertise this combination as an ideal cold-weather breakfast.
Advertising may be local, national, or international in scope. The rates charged for the three different levels of advertising vary sharply, particularly in newspapers.
How many different scales can advertising be divided into