Advertising

Advertising is the practice and techniques used to get people's attention about a product or service. It shows the benefits and special qualities of something, helping people understand why they might want it. Most often, advertising is used to sell things like toys, food, or clothes, but it can also be used for other purposes.

Commercial ads try to make people think good things about a brand, linking the name or image with certain feelings or ideas. Some ads aim to make people buy right away, while others are used by groups that aren't trying to sell anything, like political parties, religious organizations, or non-profit organizations.

In 2025, the world spent over US$1 trillion on advertising. Most of this money went to digital ads, with smaller amounts spent on TV, radio, newspapers, and other places. Big companies like Omnicom, Publicis, and WPP were the largest groups making these ads.

History

Main article: History of advertising

People have been advertising for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians used papyrus to make sales messages and wall posters. We can find commercial messages and political displays in the ruins of Pompeii and ancient Arabia. Lost and found notices on papyrus were common in ancient Greece and Rome. Wall or rock paintings for selling things are still seen today in parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. These traditions go back to rock art paintings in India from 4000 BC.

In ancient China, the earliest known advertising comes from poems from the 11th to 7th centuries BC, which talk about selling sweets with music. Advertising often used calligraphic signboards and inked papers. A copper printing plate from the Song dynasty shows one of the world’s first printed ads, showing a rabbit logo and a message about a shop that makes fine needles.

In Europe during the Middle Ages, people couldn’t read well, so shops used pictures instead of words to show what they sold, like a boot for a cobbler or a horseshoe for a blacksmith. Fruits and vegetables were sold in city squares, and sellers used town criers to shout where they were.

18th-19th century: Newspaper Advertising

By the late 1700s in England, newspapers became popular, and ads took up a big part of them. The word “advertiser” started appearing in newspaper names. Most early ads were for books or medicines. In the United States, newspapers grew fast in the 1800s because of ads. By 1822, the U.S. had more newspaper readers than any other country, with about half the content being ads.

In 1859, a British company called Beechams made the world’s first known advertising slogan: “Beechams Pills: Worth a guinea a box.” The phrase came from a happy customer and appeared in newspapers worldwide.

In 1836, a French newspaper called La Presse was the first to include paid ads, which let it charge less and attract more readers. Around 1840, Volney B. Palmer started what we’d call a modern ad agency in Philadelphia. He bought ad space in many newspapers at a discount and sold it to advertisers for more. The first full-service ad agency, N.W. Ayer & Son, opened in 1869 in Philadelphia. They helped plan, create, and run whole ad campaigns.

Late 19th century: Modern Advertising

The late 1800s and early 1900s brought modern advertising, helped by factories making lots of goods. Ad agencies started using clever methods like catchy phrases and psychology. Thomas J. Barratt in London is called “the father of modern advertising.” He worked for Pears soap and made famous ads, like using actress Lillie Langtry as the face of the brand.

20th century onwards

With factories making more goods, advertising grew a lot in the United States. By 1919, ad spending was 2.5 percent of the country’s economy. Ads helped people buy more things. In the 1910s and 1920s, advertisers learned they could appeal to people’s feelings to sell products.

In the 1920s, the U.S. government supported advertising. Radio stations started in the early 1920s, and soon ads appeared on them. Soap companies sponsored early radio dramas, called “soap operas.” Radio stations sold short ad times to many businesses, starting national radio ads.

In the 1950s, TV started, and ads became a big part of it. Cable TV came in the 1980s and 1990s, with channels like MTV mixing music and ads. The internet brought online ads in the 1990s. Companies like Google changed online ads by showing them based on what people were looking at online. Today, digital ads are a big part of the advertising world.

Classification

Advertising can be grouped in many ways, such as by style, who it targets, where it is shown, the medium used, or its purpose. For example, in print advertising, styles can include display ads (with design elements sold by size) and classified ads (sold by the word or line). Ads can be local, national, or global. They might target everyday shoppers or businesses. The goal of an ad could be to make people aware of a brand or to get them to buy something right away.

The term "above the line" refers to ads using mass media, while more focused advertising is called "below the line." These terms started in 1954 when a company changed how they paid for ads. In the 2010s, a new term, "through the line," appeared to describe ads that combine different methods.

Traditional media

Almost any medium can be used for ads. This includes wall paintings, billboards, street furniture, printed flyers, radio, TV, web banners, mobile phone screens, shopping carts, and more. Television ads are very popular and expensive, especially during big events like the Super Bowl. Radio ads are also common and reach many people. Online ads use the internet to show messages to potential customers. These can appear on search results, websites, social media, and emails.

New media

Newer advertising uses data to target specific groups of people. This includes online ads that appear on websites, in search results, or on social media. Mobile ads have grown a lot, especially with the use of QR codes. Some companies even try to put ads on rockets or use drones to show messages. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are also popular places for ads.

Crowdsourcing

Some ads are made by people instead of advertising companies. For example, contests let people create their own commercials for brands like Doritos or Chevrolet. These user-made ads can become very popular and are sometimes shown during big events like the Super Bowl.

Globalization

Advertising has evolved from being just in one country to reaching the whole world. Companies need to balance creating a consistent brand message while also making ads that work well in different countries. Research helps them understand what makes an ad successful in each place.

Purposes

Companies and organizations use advertising to reach their goals. Advertising helps tell people about a product or service, showing why it’s special or useful. It can make a company look good, show new ways to use a product, or introduce something brand new. The goal is to get people interested, bring them into the store, and keep them coming back.

One big goal of advertising is to make more people know about a brand. This helps the company decide where and how to share their message. Another goal is to keep existing customers happy by offering special deals. Advertising can also help collect information from people who might be interested, like their names and email addresses, so the company can follow up later. Sales promotions, like contests, giveaways, or discounts, are also a way to get people excited and encourage them to buy.

Theory

Advertising helps show people why they might want a product or service. It tries to explain what the product does and why it’s useful or fun.

There are ideas about how people decide to buy things. One idea says buyers go through steps like learning about the product, liking it, and finally buying it. Another idea says ads should connect the product’s benefits to what matters to the person.

Advertising also ties into marketing, which includes deciding what to sell, how much to charge, how to get it to people, and how to tell them about it. Some people also talk about focusing on the customer, cost, communication, and convenience instead of just the product and price.

Criticisms

Main article: Criticism of advertising

See also: Racial stereotyping in advertising

Advertising helps the economy grow, but it also has some problems. Some people don’t like how often they see ads, especially unwanted emails and messages online. These can be annoying and cost money for internet services to handle. Ads are also showing up more in places like schools, which some think isn’t right.

One big concern is that many ads show foods with lots of sugar, fat, and salt to children. Some people feel this is unfair to kids, who might not realize they are being persuaded to buy these foods. This can make it hard for children to learn about healthy eating. There are also worries that some ads can be misleading, especially about products or politics.

Regulation

Countries have rules to keep advertising fair and safe for everyone. For example, many places limit ads for things like alcohol, tobacco, or gambling. Some areas, especially in Europe, also have special rules to protect children from certain ads.

In some countries, advertising groups create their own rules to make sure ads are honest and respectful. These rules aim to keep ads legal, fair, and truthful. Some places, like the UK, have specific rules for outdoor ads to keep neighborhoods looking nice. Other cities, such as São Paulo, have decided not to allow certain types of outdoor ads at all.

Governments sometimes have rules about which languages can be used in ads. Advertisers may find clever ways to follow these rules, like using one language more clearly than another.

There are also rules about how prices are shown in ads. In some countries, taxes must be included in the advertised price so customers know the full cost upfront, while in others, taxes might be added later.

Gender interpretation and portrayal

Research shows that men and women may think about ads differently. Some studies suggest that men like ads that give clear hints, while women may enjoy ads more when they can use their imagination. Ads often try to encourage men to look or act a certain way, while they may show women in ways that are hard to match in real life.

Some companies, like Dove, try to show women in more natural and different ways with their Campaign for Real Beauty. How people feel when they see an ad can also change how they react to it.

"Fathers" of advertising

Some important people helped shape advertising as we know it today. In the late 1700s, Benjamin Franklin was called the "father of advertising in America." In the late 1800s, Thomas J. Barratt from London was known as "the father of modern advertising." In the early 1900s, Albert Lasker described advertising as "salesmanship in print, driven by a reason why."

Influential thinkers in advertising theory and practice

Many thinkers have influenced advertising. N. W. Ayer & Son was perhaps the first agency to use mass media like the telegraph for promotion. Claude C. Hopkins popularised testing campaigns to see what works best. Ernest Dichter helped understand why people buy things. E. St. Elmo Lewis created a model showing how people are convinced to buy. Arthur Nielsen started an early advertising agency and developed ratings for radio and TV. David Ogilvy focused on creating strong brand images. Charles Coolidge Parlin was a pioneer in using research to understand customers. Rosser Reeves introduced the idea of a unique selling proposition. Al Ries helped popularise the term "positioning." Daniel Starch created a way to measure how effective print ads are. J Walter Thompson was one of the earliest advertising agencies.