{{Short description|Form of communication for marketing}} {{redirect-several|AD|Advertiser}} {{About||the racehorse|Advertise (horse)|the English punk band|The Adverts|the QI episode "Advertising"|List of QI episodes {{!}} List of ''QI'' episodes|information about advertising on Wikipedia|:Wikipedia:Advertising|and|selfref=yes}} {{Hatnote|Advertising's short form, ''AD'' is not to be confused with AD (sequential years)}} {{pp|small=yes}} {{Use American English|date=June 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
[[File:The Ladies' home journal (1948) (14785694143).jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|1948 print advertisement for Rinso laundry soap]] {{Marketing}}
'''Advertising''' is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of interest to consumers. It is typically used to promote a specific good or service, but there is a wide range of uses, a traditional form being commercial advertisement.
Commercial advertisements often seek to generate increased consumption of products or services through "branding", which associates a product name or image with certain qualities in the minds of consumers. Advertising that intends to elicit an immediate sale is known as direct-response advertising. Non-commercial entities that advertise include political parties, interest groups, religious organizations, and governmental agencies. Non-profit organizations may use free modes of persuasion, such as a public service announcement. Advertising may also help to reassure employees or shareholders that a company is viable or successful.
Worldwide spending on advertising was estimated to be over {{US$|1{{nbsp}}trillion|link=yes}} in 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-09-25 |title=Global ad spending now estimated to rise 7.4%, WARC’s first positive revision in over a year |url=https://www.emarketer.com/content/global-ad-spending-now-estimated-rise-7-4--warc-s-first-positive-revision-over-year |access-date=2026-01-21 |website=EMARKETER |language=en|last=Jones|first=Marisa|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250926125808/https://www.emarketer.com/content/global-ad-spending-now-estimated-rise-7-4--warc-s-first-positive-revision-over-year|archive-date=2025-09-26|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-09-24 |title=Global ad growth forecasts upgraded on social media windfall {{!}} WARC {{!}} The Feed |url=https://www.warc.com/content/feed/global-ad-growth-forecasts-upgraded-on-social-media-windfall/en-GB/10987 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251219193826/https://www.warc.com/content/feed/global-ad-growth-forecasts-upgraded-on-social-media-windfall/en-GB/10987 |archive-date=December 19, 2025 |access-date=2026-01-21 |website=www.warc.com |language=en-GB |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=18 December 2025 |title=Global ad spend exceeds forecasts for 2025 {{!}} News |url=http://www.research-live.com/article/news/global-ad-spend-exceeds-forecasts-for-2025/id/5145546 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260213204116/https://www.research-live.com/article/news/global-ad-spend-exceeds-forecasts-for-2025/id/5145546 |archive-date=2026-02-13 |access-date=2026-01-21 |website=Research Live |language=en}}</ref> Advertising's distribution for 2024 was 59.4% on digital, 24.9% on TV, 5.2% on out-of-home, 4.5% on radio, 3.5% on newspapers, 2.2% on magazines and 0.4% on cinema.<ref name=":1" /> Internationally, the largest advertising agency groups in 2025 were Omnicom, Publicis and WPP.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Daniel |date=2025-12-01 |title=Omnicom to axe historic ad agencies and cut 4,000 jobs in IPG takeover |url=https://www.ft.com/content/2642490e-0de8-4b8a-b9de-59b5ea43e740 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2026-01-21 |website=www.ft.com}}</ref>
== History == {{Main|History of advertising}}
[[File:Bronze printing plate for an advertisement.jpg|thumb|Bronze plate for printing an advertisement for the Liu family needle shop at Jinan, Song dynasty China. It is the world's earliest identified printed advertising medium.]]
[[File:Edo period advertising in Japan.jpg|thumb|Edo period LEL flyer from 1806 for a traditional medicine called ''Kinseitan'']]
Egyptians used papyrus to make sales messages and wall posters.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Behal|first1=Vikas|last2=Sareen|first2=Sania|year=2014|title=Guerilla marketing: a low cost marketing strategy |journal=International Journal of Management Research and Business Strategy|volume=3|via=Google Scholar}}</ref> Commercial messages and political campaign displays have been found in the ruins of Pompeii and ancient Arabia. Lost and found advertising on papyrus was common in ancient Greece and ancient Rome. Wall or rock painting for commercial advertising is another manifestation of an ancient advertising form, which is present to this day in many parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. The tradition of wall painting can be traced back to Indian rock art paintings that date back to 4000 BC.<ref name= Bhatia>Bhatia (2000). ''Advertising in Rural India: Language, Marketing Communication, and Consumerism'', 62+68</ref>
In ancient China, the earliest advertising recorded was in the Classic of Poetry (11th to 7th centuries BC) which describes bamboo flutes playing to sell confectionery. Advertising usually took the form of calligraphic signboards and inked papers. A copper printing plate dated to the Song dynasty era was used to print posters in the form of a square sheet of paper with a rabbit logo, that included the copy "Jinan Liu's Fine Needle Shop" and "We buy high-quality steel rods and make fine-quality needles, to be ready for use at home in no time" written above and below,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/graph/tcommain.htm|title=Commercial Advertising in China|access-date=August 31, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008012808/http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/graph/tcommain.htm|archive-date=October 8, 2014}}</ref> and is considered to be the world's earliest identified printed advertising medium.<ref>Hong Liu, ''Chinese Business: Landscapes and Strategies'' (2013), p.15.</ref>
In Europe, as the towns and cities of the Middle Ages began to grow, and the general population was unable to read, instead of signs that read "cobbler", "miller", "tailor", or "blacksmith", images associated with their trade would be used, such as a boot, a suit, a hat, a clock, a diamond, a horseshoe, a candle or a bag of flour. Fruits and vegetables were sold in the city square from carts and wagons and their proprietors used street callers (town criers) to announce their whereabouts. The first compilation of such advertisements was gathered in "Les Crieries de Paris", a thirteenth-century poem by Guillaume de la Villeneuve.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/carlin/www/docs.villeneuve.htm|title= Les Crieries de Paris|access-date= July 9, 2015|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150608094418/https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/carlin/www/docs.villeneuve.htm|archive-date= June 8, 2015|df= mdy-all}}</ref>
=== 18th-19th century: Newspaper Advertising === [[Image:Pears Soap 1900.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Poster for Pears soap created under Thomas J. Barratt's leadership, 1900. Victoria and Albert Museum, London]]
By the end of the 18th century in England, the circulation of newspapers had increased and advertising accounted for a significant proportion of newspaper content. As a result the word 'advertiser' began to be used in newspaper names/titles. Prior to the 19th century, most advertisements were for books or medicines. At this time it was rare for advertisements to use images.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nature and Scope - Eighteenth Century Journals |url=https://www.18thcjournals.amdigital.co.uk/Introduction/NatureAndScope |access-date=2026-01-21 |website=www.18thcjournals.amdigital.co.uk}}</ref>
In the United States, newspapers grew quickly in the first few decades of the 19th century, in part due to advertising. By 1822, the United States had more newspaper readers than any other country. About half of the content of these newspapers consisted of advertising, usually local advertising, with half of the daily newspapers in the 1810s using the word "advertiser" in their name.<ref>{{cite book|last=Howe|first=Daniel|title=What Hath God Wrought|year=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|pages=227–228|isbn=978-0-19-539243-2}}</ref>
[[File:Beechams Pills. Worth a guinea a Box from August 1859.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|"Beechams Pills: Worth a guinea a box", the first advertising slogan from August 1859]]
In August 1859, British pharmaceutical firm Beechams created a slogan for Beecham's Pills: "Beechams Pills: Worth a guinea a box", which is considered to be the world's first advertising slogan.<ref name="Herald"/> The Beechams adverts would appear in newspapers all over the world, helping the company become a global brand.<ref name="Herald">{{cite news |last=Sugden |first=Maureen |date=August 5, 2019 |title=Anniversary of the first ad slogan |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/17815202.issue-day-anniversary-first-ad-slogan/ |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251119194647/https://www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/17815202.issue-day-anniversary-first-ad-slogan/ |archive-date=2025-11-19 |work=The Herald}}</ref><ref name="slogan">{{cite news |last=Coffey |first=Chris |date=February 19, 2016 |title=When Beecham put St Helens on the map |url=https://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/14288202.when-beecham-put-st-helens-on-the-map/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231105120945/https://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/14288202.when-beecham-put-st-helens-on-the-map/ |archive-date=November 5, 2023 |access-date=November 5, 2023 |work=St Helen's Star}}</ref> The phrase was said to be uttered by a satisfied lady purchaser from St Helens, Lancashire, the founder's hometown.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ratcliffe |first1=Susan |title=Oxford Treasury of Sayings and Quotations |publisher=Oxford University Press|date=2011 |page=478}}</ref>
thumb|upright=0.7|Beecham's slogan in the ''Los Angeles Herald,'' July 20, 1893 In June 1836, the French newspaper ''La Presse'' was the first to include paid advertising in its pages, allowing it to lower its price, extend its readership and increase its profitability<ref>{{Cite web |date=1836-06-15 |title=Emile de Girardin Launches "La Presse," Initiating "Penny Press" Journalism and Serialized Fiction in France : History of Information |url=https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=5586 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260207095537/https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=5586 |archive-date=2026-02-07 |access-date=2026-01-21 |website=www.historyofinformation.com}}</ref> and the formula was soon copied by all titles.
Around 1840, Volney B. Palmer established the roots of the modern day advertising agency in Philadelphia. In 1842 Palmer bought large amounts of space in various newspapers at a discounted rate then resold the space at higher rates to advertisers. The actual ad (copy, layout, and artwork) was prepared by the company advertising, with Palmer being a space broker. The first full-service advertising agency of N.W. Ayer & Son was founded in 1869 in Philadelphia. Ayer & Son offered to plan, create, and implement complete advertising campaigns for its customers. By 1900 the advertising agency had become the focal point of creative planning, and advertising was firmly established as a profession.<ref name="eskilson-pg58">{{Cite book |title=Graphic Design: A New History |last=Eskilson |first=Stephen J. |year=2007 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven, Connecticut |isbn=978-0-300-12011-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/graphicdesignnew00eski/page/58 58] |url=https://archive.org/details/graphicdesignnew00eski/page/58 }}</ref> Around the same time, in France, Charles-Louis Havas extended the services of his news agency, Havas to include advertisement brokerage. At first, agencies were brokers for advertisement space in newspapers.<ref name="eskilson-pg58" />
=== Late 19th century: Modern Advertising ===
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the rise of modern advertising, driven by industrialization and the growth of consumer goods. This era saw the early ad agencies employing more cunning methods such as persuasive diction and psychological tactics.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Norton |first=Nancy P. |date=July 1984 |title=The Making of Modern Advertising. By Daniel Pope. (New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1983. ix + 340 pp. $18.95.) |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-history-review/article/abs/making-of-modern-advertising-by-daniel-pope-new-york-basic-books-inc-1983-ix-340-pp-1895/2128C528ADA5106E03267826FB44EF78 |journal=Business History Review |language=en |volume=58 |issue=2 |pages=290–292 |doi=10.2307/3115064 |jstor=3115064 |issn=2044-768X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Thomas J. Barratt of London has been called "the father of modern advertising".<ref>He was first described as such in T F G Coates, 'Mr Thomas J Barratt, "The father of modern advertising"', Modern Business, September 1908, pp. 107–15.</ref><ref name="mat">Matt Haig, ''Brand failures: the truth about the 100 biggest branding mistakes of all time'', Kogan Page Publishers, 2005, pp. 219, 266.</ref><ref name="nick">Nicholas Mirzoeff, ''The visual culture reader'', Routledge, 2002, p. 510.</ref> Working for the Pears soap company, Barratt created an effective advertising campaign for the company products, which involved the use of targeted slogans, images, and phrases. One of his slogans, "Good morning. Have you used Pears' soap?" was famous in its day and into the 20th century.<ref name="obit">{{cite web|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1914/04/27/100310554.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1914/04/27/100310554.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live |title=Obituary, Thomas J. Barratt Dead: Chairman of the Firm of A. & F. Pears an Advertising Genius|work=The New York Times| page= 11 |date=April 27, 1914 |access-date=April 6, 2014}}</ref><ref name="part">{{cite book|author1=Eric Partridge|authorlink1=Eric Partridge|author2=Paul Beale|title=A Dictionary of Catch Phrases: British and American, from the Sixteenth Century to the Present Day|publisher=Routledge|year=1986|pages=164}}</ref> In 1882, Barratt recruited English actress and socialite Lillie Langtry to become the poster girl for Pears, making her the first celebrity to endorse a commercial product.<ref name="Endorse">{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Geoffrey |title=Beauty Imagined: A History of the Global Beauty Industry |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=81}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Morin |first=Richard |date=February 2, 2002 |title=When Celebrity Endorsers Go Bad |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/2002/02/03/when-celebrity-endorsers-go-bad/260776e6-d38c-4319-b683-eb466c499dce/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=March 2, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |quote=British actress Lillie Langtry became the world's first celebrity endorser when her likeness appeared on packages of Pears Soap.}}</ref>
[[File:Cocacola-5cents-1900 edit1.jpg|thumb|A Coca-Cola advertisement from the 1890s]]
Becoming the company's brand manager in 1865, listed as the first of its kind by the ''Guinness Book of Records'', Barratt introduced many of the crucial ideas that lie behind successful advertising, and these were widely circulated in his day. He stressed the importance of a strong and exclusive brand image for Pears and of emphasizing the product's availability through saturation campaigns. He also understood the importance of constantly reevaluating the market for changing tastes, stating in 1907 that "tastes change, fashions change, and the advertiser has to change with them. An idea that was effective a generation ago would fall flat, stale, and unprofitable if presented to the public today. Not that the idea of today is always better than the older idea, but it is different – it hits the present taste."<ref name="mat" />
[[File:Opera wafers huntleypalmers ad.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Advertising for Huntley & Palmers wafers {{Circa|1890}}]] Enhanced advertising revenues was one effect of the Industrial Revolution in Britain.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Sam Weller Bump |url=https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/04/14/the-sam-weller-bump/ |access-date=August 25, 2021 |magazine=The Paris Review}}</ref> Thanks to the revolution and the consumers it created, by the mid-19th century biscuits and chocolate became products for the masses, and British biscuit manufacturers were among the first to introduce branding to distinguish grocery products.<ref name="V&A"/><ref name="FT">{{cite news |title=History Cook: the rise of the chocolate biscuit |url=https://www.ft.com/content/5f890020-bba6-11e8-8274-55b72926558f |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/5f890020-bba6-11e8-8274-55b72926558f |archive-date=December 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=August 25, 2021 |work=Financial Times}}</ref> One the world's first global brands, Huntley & Palmers biscuits were sold in 172 countries in 1900, and their global reach was reflected in their advertisements.<ref name="V&A">{{cite news |title=Huntley & Palmers Biscuits |url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O561034/huntley-palmers-biscuits-poster-wh-smith/huntley--palmers-biscuits-poster-wh-smith/ |access-date=August 25, 2021 |agency=Victoria & Albert Museum}}</ref>
[[File:George William Joy - The Bayswater Omnibus.jpg|thumb|George William Joy's depiction of the interior of a late 19th century omnibus conspicuously shows the advertisements placed overhead.]]
=== 20th century onwards === thumb|left|180px|Advertisement for Guy's Tonic in the 1900s [[File:1929- Advertising revenue as percent of GDP (US).svg|thumb|right| Advertising revenue as a percent of US GDP shows a rise in audio-visual and digital advertising at the expense of print media.<ref name=BEA_20171023>{{cite web |last1=Nakamura |first1=Leonard I. (FRB) |last2=Samuels |first2=Jon (BEA) |last3=Soloveichik |first3=Rachel H. (BEA) |title=Measuring the "Free" Digital Economy Within the GDP and Productivity Accounts |url=https://www.bea.gov/index.php/system/files/papers/WP2017-9.pdf |website=SSRN.com |publisher=Social Science Research Network publishing working paper 17-37 of the Research Department, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320213029/https://www.bea.gov/index.php/system/files/papers/WP2017-9.pdf |archive-date=March 20, 2021 |page=37 (Fig. 3) |date=October 24, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>]] [[File:Aegna Plakat.jpg|thumb|left|180px|An Estonian language advertisement about a cruise between Tallinn and Helsinki in the 1930s]] [[File:Ad Encyclopaedia-Britannica 05-1913.jpg|thumb|right|A print advertisement for the 1913 issue of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'']]
As a result of massive industrialization, advertising increased dramatically in the United States. In 1919, advertising expenditure was 2.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Annual U.S. Advertising Expenditure Since 1919 |url=https://www.galbithink.org/ad-spending.htm |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=www.galbithink.org}}</ref> Industry could not benefit from its increased productivity without a substantial increase in consumer spending. This contributed to the development of mass marketing designed to influence the population's economic behavior on a larger scale.<ref>Ewen, ''Captains of Consciousness'' (1976), p. 33. "As Ford's massive assembly line utilized 'extensive single-purpose machinery' to produce automobiles inexpensively and at a rate that dwarfed traditional methods, the costly machinery of advertising that Coolidge had described set out to produce consumers, likewise inexpensively and at a rate that dwarfed traditional methods."</ref> In the 1910s and 1920s, advertisers in the U.S. adopted the doctrine that human instincts could be targeted and harnessed – "sublimated" into the desire to purchase commodities.<ref>Ewen, ''Captains of Consciousness'' (1976), p. 34. "While agreeing that 'human nature is more difficult to control than material nature,' ad men spoke in specific terms of 'human instincts' which if properly understood could induce people 'to buy a given product if it was scientifically presented. If advertising copy appealed to the right instincts, the urge to buy would surely be excited'."</ref> Edward Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud, became associated with the method and is sometimes called the founder of modern advertising and public relations.<ref>{{cite book|last=DiMaggio|first=Anthony|title=The Rise of the Tea Party: Political Discontent and Corporate Media in the Age of Obama|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jfzFF5TT0tUC&pg=PA12|year=2012|publisher=NYU Press|page=12|isbn=978-1-58367-306-5|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429145930/https://books.google.com/books?id=jfzFF5TT0tUC&pg=PA12|archive-date=April 29, 2016}}</ref> Bernays claimed that:{{blockquote|[The] general principle, that men are very largely actuated by motives which they conceal from themselves, is as true of mass as of individual psychology. It is evident that the successful propagandist must understand the true motives and not be content to accept the reasons which men give for what they do.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Propaganda|url=https://archive.org/details/propaganda00bern_0|last=Bernays|first=Edward|year=1928|pages=[https://archive.org/details/propaganda00bern_0/page/52 52]}}</ref>}}In other words, selling products by appealing to the rational minds of customers (the main method used prior to Bernays) was much less effective than selling products based on the unconscious desires that Bernays felt were the true motivators of human action. "Sex sells" became a controversial issue, with techniques for titillating and enlarging the audience posing a challenge to conventional morality.<ref>Rodger Streitmatter, ''Sex sells!: The media's journey from repression to obsession'' (Basic Books, 2004).</ref><ref>Jessica Dawn Blair, et al., "[https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/jnlolletl9&div=15&id=&page= Ethics in advertising: sex sells, but should it?]" ''Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues'' 9.1/2 (2006): 109+.</ref>
In the 1920s, under Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover, the American government promoted advertising. Hoover himself delivered an address to the Associated Advertising Clubs of the World in 1925 called 'Advertising Is a Vital Force in Our National Life."<ref>{{cite book|last=Leach|first=William|title=Land of Desire|year=1993|publisher=Pantheon Books|location=New York|page=375|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VHZ6UAudSiUC&pg=375|isbn=978-0-307-76114-9|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506134502/https://books.google.com/books?id=VHZ6UAudSiUC&pg=375|archive-date=May 6, 2016|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In October 1929, the head of the U.S. Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Julius Klein, stated "Advertising is the key to world prosperity."<ref name="Leach367">{{cite book|last=Leach|first=William|title=Land of Desire|year=1993|publisher=Pantheon Books|location=New York|page=367|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VHZ6UAudSiUC&pg=367|isbn=978-0-307-76114-9|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502152642/https://books.google.com/books?id=VHZ6UAudSiUC&pg=367|archive-date=May 2, 2016|df=mdy-all}}</ref> This was part of the "unparalleled" collaboration between business and government in the 1920s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Leach|first=William|title=Land of Desire|year=1993|publisher=Pantheon Books|location=New York|page=373|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VHZ6UAudSiUC&pg=373|isbn=978-0-307-76114-9|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617042943/https://books.google.com/books?id=VHZ6UAudSiUC&pg=373|archive-date=June 17, 2016}}</ref>
During this era, tobacco companies became major advertisers in order to sell packaged cigarettes.<ref name="Brandt2009p31">Brandt (2009) [https://books.google.com/books?id=yybaN6j4IpEC&pg=PA31 p.31] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509171427/https://books.google.com/books?id=yybaN6j4IpEC&pg=PA31 |date=May 9, 2016 }}</ref> The tobacco companies pioneered new advertising techniques when they hired Bernays to create positive associations with tobacco smoking.<ref name="Studlar2002p55">Donley T. Studlar (2002) [https://books.google.com/books?id=GmN9-GXTu4wC&pg=PA55 ''Tobacco Control: Comparative Politics in the United States and Canada''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509234835/https://books.google.com/books?id=GmN9-GXTu4wC&pg=PA55|date=May 9, 2016}} p.55 quotation: "... from the early days advertising has been intimately intertwined with tobacco. The man who is sometimes considered the founder of modern advertising and Madison Avenue, Edward Bernays, created many of the major cigarette campaigns of the 1920s, including having women march down the street demanding the right to smoke."</ref><ref name="Gifford2010p15">Donald G. Gifford (2010) [https://books.google.com/books?id=6UYzFt5Qgk4C&pg=PA15 ''Suing the Tobacco and Lead Pigment Industries''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510065809/https://books.google.com/books?id=6UYzFt5Qgk4C&pg=PA15|date=May 10, 2016}}, p.15 quotation: "... during the early twentieth century, tobacco manufacturers virtually created the modern advertising and marketing industry as it is known today."</ref>
Advertising was also used as a vehicle for cultural assimilation, encouraging workers to exchange their traditional habits and community structure in favor of a shared "modern" lifestyle.<ref>Ewen, ''Captains of Consciousness'' (1976), pp. 68–59. "Widespread within the socially oriented literature of business in the twenties and thirties is a notion of educating people into an acceptance of the products and aesthetics of a mass-produced culture. ... Beyond this, and perhaps more important to the consciousness of many, were the indigenous networks of social structure which generated mistrust or open opposition to corporate monopolization of culture."</ref> An important tool for influencing immigrant workers was the American Association of Foreign Language Newspapers (AAFLN). The AAFLN was primarily an advertising agency but also gained heavily centralized control over much of the immigrant press.<ref>Ewen, ''Captains of Consciousness'' (1976), pp. 62–65.</ref><ref>Petit, ''The Men and Women We Want'' (2010), pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=sTubHqECr84C&pg=PA66 66] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415132341/http://books.google.com/books?id=sTubHqECr84C&pg=PA66 |date=April 15, 2015 }}–68.</ref> [[File:1916-skin-touch-soap-ad.jpg|thumb|1916 ''Ladies' Home Journal'' version of the famous ad by Helen Lansdowne Resor of the J. Walter Thompson Agency]]
At the turn of the 20th century, advertising was one of the few career choices for women. As women were responsible for most household purchasing, advertisers and agencies recognized the value of women's insight during the creative process. In fact, the first American advertising to use a sexual sell was created by a woman – for a soap product. Although tame by today's standards, the advertisement featured a couple with the message "A skin you love to touch".<ref>[http://www.tvacres.com/adslogans_w.htm Advertising Slogans] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120530044539/http://www.tvacres.com/adslogans_w.htm |date=May 30, 2012 }}, Woodbury Soap Company, "A skin you love to touch", J. Walter Thompson Co., 1911</ref>
In the 1920s, psychologists Walter D. Scott and John B. Watson contributed applied psychological theory to the field of advertising. Scott said, "Man has been called the reasoning animal, but he could with greater truthfulness be called the creature of suggestion. He is reasonable, but he is to a greater extent suggestible".<ref>Benjamin, L.T., & Baker, D.B. 2004. Industrial–organizational psychology: The new psychology and the business of advertising. ''From Séance to Science: A History of the Profession of Psychology in America''. 118–121. California: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.</ref> He demonstrated this through his advertising technique of a direct command to the consumer.
==== Radio from the 1920s ==== [[File:1930.05.06 Advertisement for Radio Broadcast With Lisa Roma.gif|thumb|Advertisement for a live radio broadcast, sponsored by a milk company, Adohr milk, and published in the ''Los Angeles Times'' on May 6, 1930]]
In the early 1920s, the first radio stations were established by radio equipment manufacturers, followed by non-profit organizations such as schools, clubs, and civic groups who also set up their own stations.<ref name="uouynv">McChesney, Robert, ''Educators and the Battle for Control of U.S. Broadcasting, 1928–35'', Rich Media, Poor Democracy, {{ISBN|0-252-02448-6}} (1999)</ref> Retailers and consumer goods manufacturers quickly recognized radio's potential to reach consumers in their homes and soon adopted advertising techniques that would allow their messages to stand out; slogans, mascots, and jingles began to appear on radio in the 1920s and early television in the 1930s.<ref>Leigh, F., ''Historical Dictionary of American Radio,'' Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998 pp 7–9</ref>
The rise of mass media communications allowed manufacturers of branded goods to bypass retailers by advertising directly to consumers. This was a major paradigm shift that forced manufacturers to focus on the brand and stimulated the need for superior insights into consumer purchasing, consumption, and usage behavior; their needs, wants, and aspirations.<ref>Petty, R.D., "A History of Brand Identity Protection and Brand Marketing", in The Routledge Companion to Marketing History, D.G. Brian Jones & Mark Tadajewski (eds), Oxon, Routledge, 2016, p. 104</ref> The earliest radio drama series were sponsored by soap manufacturers and the genre became known as a ''soap opera.''<ref>Copeland, M.A., ''Soap Opera History,'' BDD Books; 1991, {{ISBN|0792454510}}</ref> Before long, radio station owners realized they could increase advertising revenue by selling 'air-time' in small time allocations, which could be sold to multiple businesses. By the 1930s, these ''advertising spots'', as the packets of time became known, were being sold by the station's geographical sales representatives, ushering in an era of national radio advertising.<ref>Leigh, F., ''Historical Dictionary of American Radio,'' Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998, p.8</ref>
By the 1940s, manufacturers began to recognize the way in which consumers were developing personal relationships with their brands in a social/psychological/anthropological sense. Advertisers began to use motivational research and consumer research to gather insights into consumer purchasing. Strong branded campaigns for Chrysler and Exxon/Esso, using insights drawn research methods from psychology and cultural anthropology, led to some of the most enduring campaigns of the 20th century.<ref>Karmasin, H., "Ernest Dichter's Studies on Automobile Marketing", in Schwarzkopf, S. and Gries, R. (eds.), Ernest Dichter and Motivation Research: New Perspectives on the Making of Post-war Consumer Culture, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, pp. 109–125</ref>
==== Commercial television in the 1950s ==== In the early 1950s, the DuMont Television Network began the modern practice of selling advertisement time to multiple sponsors. Previously, DuMont had trouble finding sponsors for many of their programs and compensated by selling smaller blocks of advertising time to several businesses. This eventually became the standard for the commercial television industry in the United States. However, it was still a common practice to have single sponsor shows, such as The United States Steel Hour. In some instances the sponsors exercised great control over the content of the show – up to and including having one's advertising agency actually writing the show.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Samuel|first=Lawrence R.|url=|title=Brought to You By: Postwar Television Advertising and the American Dream|year=2009|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-77476-6|language=en}}</ref> The single sponsor model is much less prevalent now, a notable exception being the Hallmark Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 23, 2011 |title=Slate |url=https://slate.com/culture/2011/11/hallmark-hall-of-fame-how-did-hallmark-get-into-the-tv-business-and-how-has-it-stayed-there.html }}</ref>
==== Cable television from the 1980s ==== The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the introduction of cable television and particularly MTV. Pioneering the concept of the music video, MTV ushered in a new type of advertising: the consumer tunes in ''for'' the advertising message, rather than it being a by-product or afterthought. As cable and satellite television became increasingly prevalent, specialty channels emerged, including channels entirely devoted to advertising, such as QVC, Home Shopping Network, and ShopTV Canada.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=November 1, 1996|title=A brief history of the future of advertising: Visions and lessons from integrated marketing communications|journal=Journal of Business Research|language=en|volume=37|issue=3|pages=135–138|doi=10.1016/S0148-2963(96)00062-8|issn=0148-2963|last1=Bearden|first1=William O.|last2=Madden|first2=Charles S.}}</ref>
==== Internet from the 1990s ==== {{Main|Online advertising}}
With the advent of the ad server, online advertising grew, contributing to the "dot-com" boom of the 1990s.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Senn|first1=James A.|title=Electronic Commerce Beyond the "dot com" Boom|journal=National Tax Journal|date=2000|volume=53|issue=3, Part 1|pages=373–383|doi=10.17310/ntj.2000.3.04|s2cid=42028642|language=en|url=https://www.ntanet.org/NTJ/53/3/ntj-v53n03p373-84-electronic-commerce-beyond-dot.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.ntanet.org/NTJ/53/3/ntj-v53n03p373-84-electronic-commerce-beyond-dot.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|issn = 0028-0283}}</ref> Entire corporations operated solely on advertising revenue, offering everything from coupons to free Internet access. At the turn of the 21st century, some websites, including the search engine Google, changed online advertising by personalizing ads based on web browsing behavior. This has led to other similar efforts and an increase in interactive advertising.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ko|first1=Hanjun|last2=Cho|first2=Chang-Hoan|last3=Roberts|first3=Marilyn S.|title=Internet Uses and Gratifications: A Structural Equation Model of Interactive Advertising|journal=Journal of Advertising|date=June 1, 2005|volume=34|issue=2|pages=57–59|doi=10.1080/00913367.2005.10639191|s2cid=144435476|issn=0091-3367}}</ref> Online advertising introduced new opportunities for targeting and engagement, with platforms like Google and Facebook leading the charge. This shift has significantly altered the advertising landscape, making digital advertising a dominant force in the industry.<ref>Hanafizadeh, P., & Behboudi, M. (2012). "Online advertising: An empirical study of web advertising dimensions." ''Information Systems Frontiers'', 14(2), 301-313. DOI: 10.1007/s10796-010-9270-6.</ref>
The share of advertising spending relative to GDP has changed little despite large changes in media since 1925. In 1925, the main advertising media in America were newspapers, magazines, signs on streetcars, and outdoor posters. Advertising spending as a share of GDP was about 2.9 percent. By 1998, television and radio had become major advertising media; by 2017, the balance between broadcast and online advertising had shifted, with online spending exceeding broadcast.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fry|first=Erika|date=February 1, 2018|title=Super Bowl Ads Can't Save TV|url=<!--print edition; url not determined-->|journal=Fortune|type=mailed print edition|pages=12|issn=0015-8259|quote=Last year, for the first time, global ad spending on digital platforms exceeded the dolloars spent on TV – by a solid $31 billion margin.}}</ref> Nonetheless, advertising spending as a share of GDP was only slightly lower – about 2.4 percent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.galbithink.org/ad-spending.htm |title=Annual U.S. Advertising Expenditure Since 1919 |publisher=Galbithink.org |date=September 14, 2008 |access-date=April 20, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090401205848/http://galbithink.org/ad-spending.htm| archive-date= April 1, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref>
Guerrilla marketing involves unusual approaches such as staged encounters in public places, giveaways of products such as cars that are covered with brand messages, and interactive advertising where the viewer can respond to become part of the advertising message. This type of advertising is unpredictable, which can cause consumers to buy the product or idea.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bigat|first1=Ekrem Cetin|title=Guerrilla Advertisement and Marketing|journal=Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences|date=January 1, 2012|volume=51|pages=1022–1029|doi=10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.08.281|doi-access=free}}</ref> This reflects an increasing trend of interactive and "embedded" ads, such as via product placement, having consumers vote through text messages, and various campaigns utilizing social network services such as Facebook or Twitter/X.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Culotta|first1=Aron|last2=Cutler|first2=Jennifer|title=Mining Brand Perceptions from Twitter Social Networks|journal=Marketing Science|date=February 22, 2016|volume=35|issue=3|pages=343–362|doi=10.1287/mksc.2015.0968|issn=0732-2399}}</ref>
In some instances businesses will obtain media by providing equity. This is known as media for equity, where advertising is not sold, but is instead provided to start-up companies in return for equity. If the company grows and is sold, the media companies receive cash for their shares. This practice started in Europe but has become increasingly popular in the US, with businesses such as Uber, Airbnb and Pinterest achieving global growth by using such tactics.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Catmull |first=Jaime |date=2025-09-03 |title=Why Media-For-Equity Could Transform The Future Of Personal Finance |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaimecatmull/2025/09/03/why-media-for-equity-could-transform-the-future-of-personal-finance/ |access-date=2026-01-22 |work=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>
== Classification == Advertising may be categorized in a variety of ways, including by style, target audience, geographic scope, medium, or purpose.<ref name="Bovee">Courtland L. Bovee, William F. Arens. Contemporary Advertising, Fourth Edition. Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1992.</ref>{{rp|9–15}} For example, in print advertising, classification by style can include display advertising (ads with design elements sold by size) vs. classified advertising (ads without design elements sold by the word or line). Advertising may be local, national or global. An ad campaign may be directed toward consumers or to businesses. The purpose of an ad may be to raise awareness (brand advertising), or to elicit an immediate sale (direct response advertising). The term '''above the line''' (ATL) is used for advertising involving mass media; more targeted forms of advertising and promotion are referred to as '''below the line''' (BTL).<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-belowtheline-advertising-10099.html|title=Examples of Below-the-Line Advertising|work=Houston Chronicle|access-date=June 14, 2018|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Marketing Book |last=Baker |first=Michael |date=2003 |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann|isbn=0585459525 |edition= 5th |location=Oxford |pages=424, 425 |oclc=52732761}}</ref> The two terms date back to 1954 when Procter & Gamble began paying their advertising agencies differently from other promotional agencies.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business-observer/why-we-no-longer-speak-of-above-and-below-the-line-advertising_122677?profile=0 |title=Why we no longer speak of above and below-the-line advertising |website=jamaicaobserver.com |date=January 17, 2018 |access-date=March 4, 2019 |archive-date=March 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043447/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business-observer/why-we-no-longer-speak-of-above-and-below-the-line-advertising_122677?profile=0 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the 2010s, as advertising technology developed, a new term, '''through the line''' (TTL) began to come into use, referring to integrated advertising campaigns.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.entrepreneurmag.co.za/advice/marketing/marketing-tactics/through-the-line-marketing-lets-have-that-chat/ |title=Through The Line Marketing – Let's Have That Chat |website=entrepreneurmag.co.za |date=November 5, 2013 |access-date=March 4, 2019 |archive-date=March 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306050412/https://www.entrepreneurmag.co.za/advice/marketing/marketing-tactics/through-the-line-marketing-lets-have-that-chat/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Marketing Book |last=Baker |first=Michael |date=2003 |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann|isbn=0585459525 |edition= 5th |location=Oxford |pages=425, 426 |oclc=52732761}}</ref>
=== Traditional media === [[File:Esso Standard Oil Company commercial 1938.webm|thumbtime=2|thumb|A 1938 cinema advertisement for Esso oil]] [[File:Street Advertising (5795814747).jpg|thumb|upright|Advertising man pasting a bill for Madame Tussauds, London in 1877]] Virtually any medium can be used for advertising. Commercial advertising media can include wall paintings, billboards, street furniture components, printed flyers and rack cards, radio, cinema and television adverts, web banners, mobile telephone screens, shopping carts, web popups, skywriting, bus stop benches, human billboards and forehead advertising, magazines, newspapers, town criers, sides of buses, banners attached to airplanes ("logojets"), in-flight advertisements on seatback tray tables or overhead storage, taxicab doors, roof mounts and passenger screens, musical stage shows, subway platforms and trains, elastic bands on disposable diapers, doors of bathroom stalls, stickers on fruit in supermarkets, shopping cart handles (grabertising), in streaming audio and video, posters, and on event tickets and supermarket receipts. Any situation in which an "identified" sponsor pays to deliver their message through a medium is advertising.<ref>{{cite web|title=Commercial Acting – Science of the Business|url=https://socialbilitty.com/2017/02/commercial-acting/|date=February 17, 2017|publisher=Socialbilitty|access-date=February 18, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218125757/https://socialbilitty.com/2017/02/commercial-acting/|archive-date=February 18, 2017}}</ref> {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Share of global adspend<ref name=":1" /> |- ! Medium !! 2021 !! 2024 |- | Digital advertising || 52.9% || 59.4% |- | Television advertisement || 28.3% || 24.9% |- | Outdoor advertising || 5.3% || 5.2% |- | Radio advertisement || 5.3% || 4.5% |- | Newspapers || 4.7% || 3.5% |- | Magazines || 3.1% || 2.2% |- | Cinema || 0.3% || 0.4% |}
thumb|A television commercial being filmed in 1948 ;Television: Television advertising is one of the most expensive types of advertising; networks charge large amounts for commercial airtime during popular events. The annual Super Bowl football game in the United States is known as the most prominent advertising event on television – in 2013 it attracted an audience of over 108 million and studies have shown that 50% of those tune in to see the advertisements.<ref name="A Super Bowl Ad Really Is Worth $4 Million">{{cite magazine |title=A Super Bowl Ad Really Is Worth $4 Million |magazine=Forbes |date=January 29, 2014 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2014/01/29/yes-a-super-bowl-ad-really-is-worth-4-million/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002055356/https://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2014/01/29/yes-a-super-bowl-ad-really-is-worth-4-million/ |archive-date=October 2, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title = Yes, A Super Bowl Ad Really Is Worth $4 Million|magazine = Forbes|date = January 29, 2014|url = https://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2014/01/29/yes-a-super-bowl-ad-really-is-worth-4-million/|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171002055356/https://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2014/01/29/yes-a-super-bowl-ad-really-is-worth-4-million/|archive-date = October 2, 2017|df = mdy-all}}</ref> The 2025 game attracted an audience of over 123 million, with a thirty-second ad costing US$8 million.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCoy |first=Kimeko |date=2025-02-07 |title=Here are the cases for and against an $8 million Super Bowl ad |url=https://digiday.com/marketing/here-are-the-cases-for-and-against-an-8-million-super-bowl-ad/ |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=Digiday |language=en-US}}</ref> Virtual advertisements may be inserted into regular programming through computer graphics. It is typically inserted into otherwise blank backdrops<ref name="McCarthy">{{cite web |last=McCarthy |first=Michael |url=https://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2002-10-17-fake-ads_x.htm |title=Digitally inserted ads pop up more in sports |publisher=usatoday.Com |date=October 17, 2002 |access-date=April 20, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327010635/http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2002-10-17-fake-ads_x.htm |archive-date=March 27, 2009 }}</ref> or used to replace local billboards that are not relevant to the remote broadcast audience.<ref name="Keith Mcarthur">{{cite news |last=Mcarthur |first=Keith |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060315.RVIRTUAL15/TPStory/Business |title=Business |publisher=globeandmail.com |access-date=April 20, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060316150845/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060315.RVIRTUAL15/TPStory/Business/ |archive-date=March 16, 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This technique is especially used in televised sporting events. Virtual product placement is also possible.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/02/business/media/advertisings-twilight-zone-that-signpost-up-ahead-may-be-a.html|title=Advertising's Twilight Zone: That Signpost Up Ahead May Be a Virtual Product|first=Sam|last=Lubell|date=October 15, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709120431/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/02/business/media/advertisings-twilight-zone-that-signpost-up-ahead-may-be-a.html|archive-date=July 9, 2017|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="Welcome to E-Commerce Times">{{cite web |url=http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/48956.html |title=Welcome to E-Commerce Times |date=February 23, 2006 |publisher=Ecommercetimes.com |access-date=April 20, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303233228/http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/48956.html |archive-date=March 3, 2009 }}</ref> An infomercial is a long-format television commercial, typically five minutes or longer. The name blends the words "information" and "commercial". The main objective in an infomercial is to create an impulse purchase, so that the target sees the presentation and then immediately buys the product through the advertised toll-free telephone number or website. Infomercials describe and often demonstrate products, and commonly have testimonials from customers and industry professionals.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Braxton|first=Greg|title="Latest Amazing Discovery: The Un-Infomercial : Television: Storymercials cost more to shoot and don't look like infomercials – they look like real shows. The soft-sell approach is more appealing to corporate America"|publisher=The Los Angeles Times.}}</ref>
;Radio: Radio advertisements are broadcast as radio waves from a transmitter to an antenna and thus to a receiving device. Increasingly radio is transmitted via the internet.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-24 |title=How does a radio station work? |url=https://www.radioking.com/blog/how-does-a-radio-work/ |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=RadioKing Blog |language=en}}</ref> Airtime is purchased from a station or network in exchange for airing the commercials. While radio has the limitation of being restricted to sound, proponents of radio advertising often cite this as an advantage. According Nielsen Media Research data published by the Radio Advertising Bureau, 82% of people in the US aged 12 and older listened to terrestrial radio in a given week, in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-15 |title=Audio and Podcasting Fact Sheet |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/audio-and-podcasting/ |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref>
;Online: Online advertising is a form of promotion that uses the Internet and World Wide Web for the expressed purpose of delivering marketing messages to attract customers. Online ads are delivered by an ad server. Examples of online advertising include contextual ads that appear on search engine results pages, banner ads, pay per click text ads, rich media ads, Social network advertising, online classified advertising, advertising networks and e-mail marketing, including e-mail spam.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Semerádová|first1=Tereza|url=|title=Impacts of Online Advertising on Business Performance|last2=Weinlich|first2=Petr|year=2019|publisher=IGI Global|isbn=978-1-7998-1618-8|language=en}}</ref> A newer form of online advertising is called Native Ads; which go in a website's news feed and are supposed to improve user experience by being less intrusive. However, some people argue this practice is deceptive.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalmarketer.com/what-is-native-advertising/|title=What is Native Advertising?|work=Digital Marketer|date=June 30, 2014|access-date=September 8, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906104032/http://www.digitalmarketer.com/what-is-native-advertising/|archive-date=September 6, 2015}}</ref>
;Domain names: Domain name advertising is most commonly done through pay per click web search engines, however, advertisers often lease space directly on domain names that generically describe their products. Domain name registrants can be easy to identify through WHOIS records that are publicly available at registrar websites.<ref name="icannwhois">{{cite web |url=http://whois.icann.org/ |title=ICANN Whois Database |publisher=ICANN.org |access-date=December 15, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220121557/http://whois.icann.org/ |archive-date=December 20, 2014 }}</ref> Domain name advertising was originally developed by Oingo (later known as Applied Semantics), one of Google's early acquisitions.<ref name=oingo>{{cite web |url=http://allthingsd.com/20130422/ten-years-later-lessons-from-the-applied-semantics-google-acquisition/ |title=Ten Years Later – Lessons from the Applied Semantics Google Acquisition |publisher=Allthingsd.com |last=Elbaz |first=Eytan |date=April 22, 2013 |access-date=December 15, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214035929/http://allthingsd.com/20130422/ten-years-later-lessons-from-the-applied-semantics-google-acquisition/ |archive-date=December 14, 2014 }}</ref>
;Product placements: This is when a product or brand is embedded in entertainment and media. For example, in a film, the main character can use a branded product, such as in the movie ''Minority Report'', where Tom Cruise's character John Anderton uses a branded ''Nokia'' phone and wears a watch engraved with the ''Bulgari'' logo. Another example of product placement in film is in ''I, Robot'', where main character played by Will Smith mentions his ''Converse'' shoes several times, calling them "classics", because the film is set far in the future. ''I, Robot'' and ''Spaceballs'' also showcase futuristic cars with the ''Audi'' and ''Mercedes-Benz'' logos clearly displayed on the front of the vehicles. Cadillac chose to advertise in the movie ''The Matrix Reloaded'', which as a result contained many scenes in which Cadillac cars were used. Similarly, product placement for Omega Watches, Ford, VAIO, BMW and Aston Martin cars are featured in James Bond films, most notably ''Casino Royale''. In "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer", the main transport vehicle shows a large Dodge logo on the front. ''Blade Runner'' includes some of the most obvious product placement; the whole film stops to show a Coca-Cola billboard.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Novak |first=Matt |title=Billboard Advertising in the City of Blade Runner |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/billboard-advertising-in-the-city-of-blade-runner-76581404/ |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Milton |first=Danny |date=2022-05-13 |title=Watching Movies: Tom Cruise Wears A Bulgari – Or Is It An Omega? – In 'Minority Report' |url=https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/tom-cruise-wears-a-bulgari-or-is-it-an-omega-in-minority-report |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260131083041/https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/tom-cruise-wears-a-bulgari-or-is-it-an-omega-in-minority-report |archive-date=2026-01-31 |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=Hodinkee |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Erik |date=2010-11-23 |title=Does the worst product placement exist? |url=https://brandsandfilms.com/2010/11/does-the-worst-product-placement-exist/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260131024948/https://brandsandfilms.com/2010/11/does-the-worst-product-placement-exist/ |archive-date=2026-01-31 |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=Brands & Films |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Product Placement Brands in THE MATRIX Franchise (1999-2021) |url=https://www.concavebt.com/news/product-placement-brands-in-the-matrix-franchise-1999-2021/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251108161041/https://www.concavebt.com/news/product-placement-brands-in-the-matrix-franchise-1999-2021/ |archive-date=2025-11-08 |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=www.concavebt.com |language=en-gb}}</ref>
;Print: Print advertising describes advertising in a printed medium such as a newspaper, magazine, or trade journal. This encompasses everything from media with a very broad readership base, such as a major national newspaper or magazine, to more narrowly targeted media such as local newspapers and trade journals on very specialized topics. One form of print advertising is classified advertising, which allows private individuals or companies to purchase a small, narrowly targeted ad paid by the word or line. Another form of print advertising is the display ad, which is generally a larger ad with design elements that typically run in an article section of a newspaper.<ref name="Bovee" />{{rp|14}}
;Outdoor: [[File:London , Piccadilly Circus looking up Shaftsbury Ave , circa 1949 ,Kodachrome by Chalmers Butterfield.jpg|thumb|250px|Outdoor advertisements, such as Shaftesbury Avenue, London {{Circa|1949}} pictured here, are usually placed in busy locations.]]
[[File:Aditya Enclave - Ameerpet - Hyderabad.jpg|thumb|235px|Hoardings as seen on commercial buildings in Hyderabad, India]] :Billboards, also known as hoardings in some parts of the world, are large structures located in public places which display advertisements to passing pedestrians and motorists. Most often, they are located on main roads with a large amount of passing motor and pedestrian traffic; however, they can be placed in any location with large numbers of viewers, such as on mass transit vehicles and in stations, in shopping malls or office buildings, and in stadiums. Street advertising involves creating outdoor advertising on street furniture and pavements and can use products such as Reverse Graffiti, air dancers and 3D pavement advertising.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Nelson|first1=Richard|title=Outdoor Advertising (RLE Advertising)|last2=Sykes|first2=Anthony|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-66930-9|language=en}}</ref> Sheltered outdoor advertising combines outdoor with indoor advertisement by placing large mobile structures (tents) in public places on a temporary basis. The large outer advertising space aims to entice the observer in, with the product promoted inside.<ref name=":0" /> Mobile billboards are generally vehicle mounted billboards or digital screens. These can be on dedicated vehicles built solely for carrying advertisements and can travel along routes preselected by advertisers. They can also be specially equipped cargo trucks or, in some cases, large banners strewn from planes. Billboards are often lighted; some being backlit, and others employing spotlights. Some billboard displays are static, while others change; for example, continuously or periodically rotating a set of advertisements. Mobile displays are used for various situations in metropolitan areas throughout the world, including: target advertising, one-day and long-term campaigns, conventions, sporting events, store openings and similar promotional events, and advertisements from smaller companies.<ref name=":0" /> thumb|upright|An advertisement for a diner. Such signs are common on storefronts. ;Point-of-sale: In-store advertising is any advertisement placed in a retail store. It includes placement of a product in visible locations in a store, such as at eye level, at the ends of aisles and near checkout counters (a.k.a. POP – point of purchase display), eye-catching displays promoting a specific product, advertisements in places such as shopping carts and in-store video displays.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Kotler|first1=Philip|title=Marketing Management|last2=Keller|first2=Kevin Lane|date=2012|publisher=Prentice Hall|isbn=978-0-13-210292-6|language=en}}</ref>
;Novelties (promotional products): Advertising printed on small, tangible items such as coffee mugs, T-shirts, pens, and bags is commonly referred to as promotional merchandise, historically known as advertising novelties or advertising specialties. Industry commentary has noted a shift in the sector from low-cost giveaway items towards more purpose-driven, brand-aligned products intended to support broader marketing strategies and long-term brand development.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gregory |first=Douglas |title=Advertising Novelties Fade As Promotional Merch Evolves |url=https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2025/10/23/advertising-specialties-fade-as-promotional-merch-evolves/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251101090019/https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2025/10/23/advertising-specialties-fade-as-promotional-merch-evolves/ |archive-date=November 1, 2025 |access-date=2026-02-18 |work=Forbes |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref>
;Celebrity endorsements: Advertising where a celebrity endorses a product and a brand leverages celebrity influence, fame and popularity to gain recognition for their products or to promote specific stores' or products. Advertisers often advertise their products when, for example, celebrities share their favorite products or wear clothes by specific brands or designers. Celebrities are often involved in advertising campaigns, appearing in television, digital and print adverts to advertise brands and their products. The use of celebrities to endorse a brand can have disadvantages, as mistakes, poor behaviour or controversy involving the celebrity can be detrimental to the public relations of a brand.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Milton |first=Nick |date=2024-11-07 |title=Celebrity Endorsement – The Pros and Cons |url=https://www.bcu.ac.uk/business/blog/celebrity-endorsement-the-pros-and-cons |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=Birmingham City University |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=10 Celebrities Who Lost Brand Partnerships & Endorsement Deals |url=https://toofab.com/2025/10/04/10-celebrities-who-lost-brand-partnerships-and-endorsement-deals/ |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=Toofab |language=en}}</ref> Celebrities such as Britney Spears have advertised for multiple products including Pepsi, Candies from Kohl's, Twister, NASCAR, and Toyota.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Strunck|first=Michael|title=Celebrity Endorsement: The Key Success Factors of Brand Endorsers|publisher=LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing|year=2011|isbn=978-3844301175}}</ref>
;Aerial: Using aircraft, balloons or airships to create or display advertising media. Skywriting is a notable example.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aerial Advertising Methods, Types & Risks |url=https://study.com/academy/lesson/aerial-advertising-definition-examples-regulations.html |access-date=2026-01-23 |website=Study.com}}</ref> Drones are now used for aerial advertising.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sheena |first=Jasmine |date=2023-08-29 |title=Drone aerial advertising startup gets green light from aviation authorities |url=https://www.marketingbrew.com/stories/2023/08/29/drone-aerial-advertising-startup-gets-green-light-from-aviation-authorities |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=Marketing Brew |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Oommen |first=Anup |date=2025-10-14 |title=Contour Media, Skyvertise partner to offer advertisers share of voice in Dubai's skies |url=https://campaignme.com/contour-media-skyvertise-partner-to-offer-advertisers-share-of-voice-in-dubais-skies/ |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=Campaign Middle East |language=en-US}}</ref> [[File:Allegiant blueman md80 (cropped).jpg|thumb|An Allegiant Air aircraft in the special Blue Man Group livery]] [[File:Zeppelin NT N07 (D-LZFN), Friedrichshafen.jpg|thumb|A Zeppelin NT (D-LZFN) of Friedrichshafen used for advertisement]]
=== New media === Advanced advertising is data-driven advertising, using large quantities of data and precise targeting and measurement tools.<ref>[https://www.adweek.com/tv-video/advanced-advertising-is-delivering-more-data-better-targeting-but-what-else/ Advanced Advertising Is Delivering More Data, Better Targeting … but What Else?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327192303/https://www.adweek.com/tv-video/advanced-advertising-is-delivering-more-data-better-targeting-but-what-else/ |date=March 27, 2019 }} Published by adweek.com on April 19, 2018, retrieved March 27, 2019</ref> Advanced advertising makes it easier for companies who sell ad space to attribute customer purchases to the ads they display or broadcast.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lafayette |first1=Jon |title=Attribution Data Points to TV Ads Driving More Sales |url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/attribution-data-points-tv-ads-driving-more-sales |website=NextTV |access-date=December 4, 2021 |date=March 26, 2018}}</ref> Increasingly, new media approaches are overtaking "traditional" media such as television, radio and newspaper as people shift to using the internet for activities such as reading, watching or listening to the news.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanpressinstitute.org/publications/reports/survey-research/how-americans-get-news/|title=How Americans get their news|date=March 17, 2014|work=American Press Institute|access-date=December 14, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151113113347/http://www.americanpressinstitute.org/publications/reports/survey-research/how-americans-get-news/|archive-date=November 13, 2015}}</ref>
Online advertising began with unsolicited bulk e-mail advertising known as "e-mail spam". Spam has been a problem for e-mail users since 1978.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adpushup.com/blog/the-history-of-online-advertising/ |title=The History of Online Advertising |access-date=April 28, 2016 |first=Ankit |last=Oberoi |website=AdPush |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425171749/http://www.adpushup.com/blog/the-history-of-online-advertising/ |archive-date=April 25, 2016}}</ref> As new online communication channels became available, advertising followed. The first banner ad appeared on the World Wide Web in 1994.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mashable.com/2013/08/09/first-banner-ad|website=Mashable|title=This is the World's First Banner Ad|first=Todd|last=Wasserman|date=August 9, 2013|access-date=April 28, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160421022220/http://mashable.com/2013/08/09/first-banner-ad/|archive-date=April 21, 2016}}</ref> Internet advertising allows companies to target specific audiences, which can improve return on investment.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-14 |title=Understanding Targeted Ads in Digital Marketing {{!}} Institute of Data |url=https://www.institutedata.com/us/blog/targeted-ads-in-digital-marketing/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260128195716/https://www.institutedata.com/us/blog/targeted-ads-in-digital-marketing/ |archive-date=2026-01-28 |access-date=2026-01-22 |language=en-US}}</ref>
The rise of the internet resulted in people using search engines to find websites and the emergence of search engine advertising, as companies sought to advertise to consumers online. Google was founded in 1998 and by the early 2000's had become the most widely used search engine. In 2000 Google launched AdWords, which allowed advertisers to bid, in order for their adverts to appear in paid search results. Their auction bidding system used factors such as click-through rate and relevance, with advertisers using high quality ads rewarded with better ad placements and lower costs per click (CPC).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hur |first=Johnson |date=2024-08-27 |title=The History of Paid Search Engine Marketing |url=https://bebusinessed.com/history/the-history-of-paid-search-engine-marketing/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251211162533/https://bebusinessed.com/history/the-history-of-paid-search-engine-marketing/ |archive-date=2025-12-11 |access-date=2026-01-22 |language=en-US}}</ref>
In online display advertising, display ads can generate awareness quickly. Whereas search requires someone to be aware of a need, display advertising can drive awareness of something new, without previous knowledge. Display can work well for direct response. Online display advertising is not only used for generating awareness, it can also be used for direct response campaigns.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kanter |first=Joshua |date=2025-05-05 |title=Display Ads: Definition, Benefits Beyond the Banners |url=https://www.taboola.com/marketing-hub/display-ads/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251213124057/https://www.taboola.com/marketing-hub/display-ads/ |archive-date=2025-12-13 |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=Taboola.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
Mobile phones became a new mass medium in 1998 when the first paid downloadable content appeared on mobile phones in Finland,<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Brief History of Science with Levity|last=Bennet|first=Mike|year=2015|isbn=978-1784622954|page=301|publisher=Troubador Publishing }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-08-19 |title=Finland was a pioneer in terms of m-commerce |url=https://ecommerce-europe.eu/news-item/finland-was-a-pioneer-in-terms-of-m-commerce/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508050512/https://ecommerce-europe.eu/news-item/finland-was-a-pioneer-in-terms-of-m-commerce/ |archive-date=2021-05-08 |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=Ecommerce Europe |language=en-US}}</ref> mobile advertising followed, first launched in Finland in 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-24 |title=The evolution of mobile marketing: From SMS and call centers to immersive experiences {{!}} Telecoming {{!}} MONETIZATION TECHNOLOGY |url=https://www.telecoming.com/blog/the-evolution-of-mobile-marketing-from-sms-and-call-centers-to-immersive-experiences/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251206185008/https://www.telecoming.com/blog/the-evolution-of-mobile-marketing-from-sms-and-call-centers-to-immersive-experiences/ |archive-date=2025-12-06 |access-date=2026-01-22 |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2007, the value of mobile advertising was expected to be $3 billion, with most of this generated via mobile search and video.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reardon |first=Marguerite |date=2007-04-11 |title=Mobile advertising to hit $3 billion in 2007 |url=https://www.cnet.com/culture/mobile-advertising-to-hit-3-billion-in-2007/ |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=CNET |language=en}}</ref> By 2025 this had increased to an estimated market size of $262 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mobile Advertising Market Size, Share, Trends |url=https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/mobile-advertising-market-102496 |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=www.fortunebusinessinsights.com |language=en}}</ref>
More advanced mobile ads include banner ads, coupons, Multimedia Messaging Service picture and video messages, advergames and various engagement marketing campaigns. One feature driving mobile ads is the 2D barcode (QR code) which replaces the need to type web addresses, and uses the camera in mobile phones to access web content. 83 percent of Japanese mobile phone users are active users of 2D barcodes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SHAPING THE FUTURE MOBILE INFORMATION SOCIETY: THE CASE OF JAPAN |url=https://www.itu.int/osg/spu/ni/futuremobile/general/casestudies/JapancaseLS1.pdf |website=www.itu.int |access-date=March 14, 2024 |archive-date=March 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314103412/https://www.itu.int/osg/spu/ni/futuremobile/general/casestudies/JapancaseLS1.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Some companies have proposed placing messages or corporate logos on the side of booster rockets and the International Space Station.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Robinson |first1=Gail |title=Mass Commnunication and Journalism |date=2019 |publisher=EDTECH |isbn=978-1839472060}}</ref> An advertising method has emerged called "ARvertising", which uses augmented reality technology.<ref>{{cite web |last=Kastrenakes |first=Jacob |date=March 25, 2014 |title=Pepsi's bus stop ad in London might be the best use of augmented reality yet |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/3/25/5545842/pepsi-bus-stop-ad-augmented-reality |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325205500/http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/25/5545842/pepsi-bus-stop-ad-augmented-reality |archive-date=March 25, 2014 |access-date=March 25, 2014 |work=Blippar |publisher=The Verge, Jacob Kastrenakes}}</ref> The emerging technology of drone displays has been used for advertising purposes.<ref>{{cite web |last=Swatman |first=Rachel |date=November 4, 2016 |title=Intel launches 500 drones into sky and breaks world record in spectacular style |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2016/11/intel-launches-500-drones-into-sky-and-breaks-world-record-in-spectacular-style-449886 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119050804/https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2016/11/intel-launches-500-drones-into-sky-and-breaks-world-record-in-spectacular-style-449886 |archive-date=November 19, 2016 |website=Guinness World Records}}</ref>
The internet has also had a significant impact on how people watch TV, with many people now choosing to stream TV content at a time that is convenient to them. This is particularly true of people in younger age groups, with 50% of streaming viewers being aged 35 or less.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fatemi |first=Falon |date=2022-11-14 |title=How TV Viewing Habits Have Changed |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/falonfatemi/2022/11/14/how-tv-viewing-habits-have-changed/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260129023907/https://www.forbes.com/sites/falonfatemi/2022/11/14/how-tv-viewing-habits-have-changed/ |archive-date=2026-01-29 |access-date=2026-01-23 |work=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> In the UK, less than half of 16-24 year olds were watching traditional TV in an average week, in 2023-2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-30 |title=Gen Z swerves traditional broadcast TV as less than half tune in weekly |url=https://www.ofcom.org.uk/media-use-and-attitudes/media-habits-adults/gen-z-swerves-traditional-broadcast-tv-as-less-than-half-tune-in-weekly |access-date=2026-01-23 |website=www.ofcom.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> As a result, companies are increasingly using connected TV (CTV) to advertise, with this being one of the growing media channels. In 2024, it was suggested that ad spend in this class of media was increasing by almost 20% each year, with this type of advertising offering increased targeting opportunities, to improve effectiveness.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-24 |title=9 Trends Shaping the Future of TV Advertising in 2025 |url=https://liveramp.uk/blog/9-trends-shaping-future-of-tv-advertising-in-2025/ |access-date=2026-01-23 |website=LiveRamp |language=en-GB}}</ref>
The emergence of social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X and TikTok has led to companies increasingly using social media for advertising. In 2024, global social media advertising spend was expected to be $247 billion, a 14.3% year on year increase.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Ad Trends: Social media reaches new peaks {{!}} WARC |url=https://page.warc.com/global-ad-trends-social-media-reaches-new-peaks.html |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=www.warc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2025, Alphabet, Meta and Amazon controlled more than 50% of all advertising spend (globally, excluding China). These technology companies are able to invest heavily in AI optimisation and creative automation which can improve advertising campaign effectiveness and they all have a first-party data infrastructure.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2025-12-12 |title=Big Tech Dominance Reshapes Global Advertising as Market Hits $1.19 Trillion |url=https://www.themediastack.co.uk/p/big-tech-dominance-reshapes-global |url-access=subscription |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=www.themediastack.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>
=== Crowdsourcing === {{Main|Crowdsourcing}}
The concept of crowdsourcing has given way to the trend of user-generated advertisements. User-generated ads are created by people, as opposed to an advertising agency or the company themselves, often resulting from brand sponsored advertising competitions. For the 2007 Super Bowl, the Frito-Lays division of PepsiCo held the "Crash the Super Bowl" contest, allowing people to create their own Doritos commercials.<ref name="Advertising Age">{{cite news |title=Who's Buying What at Super Bowl 2007 |url=http://adage.com/SuperBowlBuyers/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218070122/http://adage.com/SuperBowlBuyers/ |archive-date=February 18, 2010 |access-date=May 10, 2010 |publisher=Advertising Age}}</ref> Chevrolet held a similar competition for their Tahoe line of SUVs.<ref name="Advertising Age" /> Due to the success of the Doritos user-generated ads in the 2007 Super Bowl, Frito-Lays relaunched the competition for the 2009 and 2010 Super Bowl. The resulting ads were among the most-watched and most-liked Super Bowl ads. In fact, the winning ad that aired in the 2009 Super Bowl was ranked by the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter as the top ad for the year while the winning ads that aired in the 2010 Super Bowl were found by Nielsen's BuzzMetrics to be the "most buzzed-about".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/business/media/09adco.html |title=Do-It-Yourself Super Ads |newspaper=New York Times |date=February 8, 2010 |access-date=May 10, 2010 |first=Stuart |last=Elliott |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100217050431/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/business/media/09adco.html |archive-date=February 17, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/admeter/2009admeter.htm |title='Two nobodies from nowhere' craft winning Super Bowl ad |newspaper=USA Today |date=December 31, 2009 |access-date=May 10, 2010 |first=Bruce |last=Horovitz |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091227030845/http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/admeter/2009admeter.htm |archive-date=December 27, 2009 }}</ref> Another example of companies using crowdsourcing successfully is the beverage company Jones Soda that encourages consumers to participate in the label design themselves.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ochman |first=B. L. |date=November 26, 2008 |title=Crowdsourcing: Everything Old Is New Again, and Again |url=https://adage.com/article/digitalnext/crowdsourcing/132873/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043304/https://adage.com/article/digitalnext/crowdsourcing/132873/ |archive-date=March 6, 2019 |access-date=March 4, 2019 |website=adage.com}}</ref>
This trend has given rise to several online platforms that host user-generated advertising competitions on behalf of a company. Founded in 2007, Zooppa has launched ad competitions for brands such as Google, Nike, Hershey's, General Mills, Microsoft, NBC Universal, Zinio, and Mini Cooper.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=34241909|title=Zooppa.com, Inc.: Private Company Information |website=www.bloomberg.com|access-date=April 30, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019210743/https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=34241909|archive-date=October 19, 2017}}</ref> Crowdsourcing remains controversial, as the long-term impact on the advertising industry is still unclear.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/9521.asp |title=Are Consumer-Generated Ads Here to Stay? |publisher=iMediaConnection |date=May 10, 2006 |access-date=May 10, 2010|first=Robert|last=Moskowitz| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100426103023/http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/9521.asp| archive-date= April 26, 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>
=== Globalization === {{Main|Global marketing}}
Advertising has gone through five major stages of development: domestic, export, international, multi-national, and global. For global advertisers, there are four, potentially competing, business objectives that must be balanced when developing worldwide advertising: building a brand while speaking with one voice, developing economies of scale in the creative process, maximizing local effectiveness of ads, and increasing the company's speed of implementation. Born from the evolutionary stages of global marketing are the three primary and fundamentally different approaches to the development of global advertising executions: exporting executions, producing local executions, and importing ideas that travel.<ref>Global marketing Management, 2004, pp. 13–8</ref>
Advertising research is key to determining the success of an ad in any country or region. The ability to identify which elements and/or moments of an ad contribute to its success is how economies of scale are maximized. Once one knows what works in an ad, that idea or ideas can be imported by any other market. Market research measures, such as Flow of Attention, Flow of Emotion and branding moments provide insight into what is working in an ad in any country or region because the measures are based on the visual, not verbal, elements of the ad.<ref>Young, p.131</ref>
== Purposes == Companies and organisations have a number of business goals they wish to achieve. Broadly, advertising is used to help achieve these objectives.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Olson |first=Eric M. |last2=Olson |first2=Kai M. |last3=Czaplewski |first3=Andrew J. |last4=Key |first4=Thomas Martin |date=2021-03-01 |title=Business strategy and the management of digital marketing |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681320301567 |journal=Business Horizons |volume=64 |issue=2 |pages=285–293 |doi=10.1016/j.bushor.2020.12.004 |issn=0007-6813|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Advertising delivers a message to customers and prospective customers. Advertising predominantly informs consumers about a product or service to convince customers that their offerings are the best, to enhance the image of the company, to demonstrate new uses for established products, to promote new products/services, to draw customers to the business, and to retain existing customers.<ref>{{cite book|title = How to start and succeed in a business of your own |first=John| last=Taylor| year = 1978| page=293}}</ref> A successful advertising campaign initially defines a clear purpose. Common objectives include:
=== Brand awareness === This consists of advertising which aims to increase the number of people who know about (recognise and recall) a brand. This purpose will impact the type of channels/media and ad formats selected to achieve greater brand awareness.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Peralta |first=Mike |date=2025-10-07 |title=12 Advertising Objectives Examples for Successful Campaigns |url=https://www.audiencescience.com/advertising-objectives-examples/ |access-date=2026-01-23 |website=Audience Science |language=en-US}}</ref> This type of objective can include creating awareness of new features a brand is offering, such as improving the in-store experience.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chenoy |first=Ceil |date=2019-01-29 |title=Advertising Objectives and Communication Strategies of McDonald and Dove |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3521066# |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250507152647/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3521066 |archive-date=2025-05-07 |access-date=2026-01-23 |website=SSRN}}</ref>
=== Customer retention === Typically a broader marketing activity, advertising campaigns can contribute to companies retaining existing customers. Such advertising may promote customer loyalty schemes and can involve showing personalised offers and promotions.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Croxall |first=Rob |date=2025-10-15 |title=7 steps to improve your customer retention |url=https://www.themarketingcentre.com/blog/7-steps-to-improve-your-customer-retention?hs_amp=true |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260213212537/https://www.themarketingcentre.com/blog/7-steps-to-improve-your-customer-retention?hs_amp=true |archive-date=2026-02-13 |access-date=2026-01-23 |website=www.themarketingcentre.com}}</ref>
=== Lead generation === This involves a business or organisation conducting an advertising campaign where the purpose is to collect information such as name and email addresses, which constitutes a 'lead'. This can involve providing downloadable content or running webinars. Advertising effectiveness is measured by establishing the cost per lead. This data is then used for marketing activities with the aim of converting the prospect/lead to become a customer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Comprehensive Guide to Marketing Campaigns |url=https://business.adobe.com/uk/blog/basics/marketing-campaigns |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251107123547/https://business.adobe.com/uk/blog/basics/marketing-campaigns |archive-date=2025-11-07 |access-date=2026-01-23 |website=Adobe for Business}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Stanton |first=Liz |date=2025-09-18 |title=LinkedIn ads: Everything you need to know in 2025 |url=https://blog.hootsuite.com/linkedin-ads-guide/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260204011240/https://blog.hootsuite.com/linkedin-ads-guide/ |archive-date=2026-02-04 |access-date=2026-01-23 |website=Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=What is Lead Generation? Guide & Best Practices |url=https://www.salesforce.com/marketing/lead-generation-guide/ |access-date=2026-01-23 |website=Salesforce |language=en}}</ref>
=== Sales promotions === Sales promotions are another way to advertise. Sales promotions are double purposed because they are used to gather information about what type of customers one draws in and where they are, and to jump start sales. Sales promotions include things like contests and games, sweepstakes, product giveaways, samples coupons, loyalty programs, and discounts. The ultimate goal of sales promotions is to stimulate potential customers to action.<ref>Altstiel, Tom, and Jean Grow. Advertising Strategy: Creative Tactics From the Outside/In. CA: Sage Publication Inc. 2006. Print.</ref>
== Theory == {{See also|Advertising management}}
=== Hierarchy-of-effects models === {{See also|AIDA (marketing)}} Hierarchies of effects models attempt to theoretically explain that consumers go through a number of stages, that can be prompted by advertising, before purchasing a product or service.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |editor-first = Stephen W. |editor-last = Littlejohn |encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Communication Theory |title = Advertising Theories |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2veMwywplPUC |access-date = August 16, 2013 |year = 2009 |publisher = SAGE |volume = 1 |isbn = 978-1-4129-5937-7 |page = 19 |quote = Originally developed in the personal-selling literature, the ''hierarchy-of-effects model'' has undergone various modifications in its historical development such that today we use it in the plural form, indicating that competing models exist. |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140627123917/http://books.google.com/books?id=2veMwywplPUC |archive-date = June 27, 2014 |df = mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Barry |first=Thomas E. |last2=Howard |first2=Daniel J. |date=2015-03-03 |title=A Review and Critique of the Hierarchy of Effects in Advertising |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02650487.1990.11107138 |journal=International Journal of Advertising |language=en |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=121–135 |doi=10.1080/02650487.1990.11107138 |issn=0265-0487|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chakravarty |first=R |last2=Sarma |first2=N |date=2021-05-10 |title=Evolutionary framework of hierarchy of effects models: exploring relevance in the shifting of customer path |url=https://www.emerald.com/xjm/article/19/1/59/389315/Evolutionary-framework-of-hierarchy-of-effects |journal=VILAKSHAN - XIMB Journal of Management |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=59-68 |via=Emerald Insight}}</ref> * The model of Clow and Baack<ref>Clow, Kenneth E.; Baack, Donald (2007). Integrated Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing Communications 3rd edition. Pearson Education. pp. 165–171. {{ISBN|0-13-186622-2}}.</ref> clarifies the objectives of an advertising campaign and for each individual advertisement. The model postulates six steps a buyer moves through when making a purchase: *# Awareness *# Knowledge *# Liking *# Preference *# Conviction *# Purchase * Means-end theory suggests that an advertisement should contain a message or means that leads the consumer to a desired end-state.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kjB5AgAAQBAJ&q=means-end+theory&pg=PP1|title=Understanding Consumer Decision Making: The Means-end Approach To Marketing and Advertising Strategy|last1=Reynolds|first1=Thomas J.|last2=Olson|first2=Jerry C.|date=May 1, 2001|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-1135693169|page=3|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216191453/https://books.google.com/books?id=kjB5AgAAQBAJ&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=means-end%20theory|archive-date=February 16, 2017}}</ref> * Leverage points aim to move the consumer from understanding a product's benefits to linking those benefits with personal values.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Integrated advertising, promotion, and marketing communications|last=Clow, Kenneth E.|date=2007|publisher=Pearson Prentice Hall|others=Baack, Donald.|isbn=978-0131866225|edition= 3rd|location=Upper Saddle River, N.J.|oclc=61448283}}</ref>
=== Marketing mix === {{Main|Marketing mix}}
The marketing mix was proposed by Harvard Business School professor Neil H. Borden and expanded on, and popularized by professor E. Jerome McCarthy in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite book|last=McCarthy|first=Jerome E.|title=Basic Marketing. A Managerial Approach|year=1964|publisher=Irwin|location=Homewood, IL}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-20 |title=Marketing Mix: What Are the Four P’s of Marketing? |url=https://online.jwu.edu/blog/marketing-mix-what-are-the-four-ps-of-marketing/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260203210754/https://online.jwu.edu/blog/marketing-mix-what-are-the-four-ps-of-marketing/ |archive-date=2026-02-03 |access-date=2026-01-23 |website=JWU Online |language=en-US}}</ref> It consists of four basic elements called the "'''four Ps'''". '''Product''' is the first P representing the actual product. '''Price''' represents the process of determining the value of a product. '''Place''' represents the variables of getting the product to the consumer such as distribution channels, market coverage and movement organization. The last P stands for '''Promotion''' which is the process of reaching the target market and convincing them to buy the product.
The concept of the '''four Cs''' was introduced as a more customer-driven replacement of the four P's.<ref name="Business for Higher Awards">{{cite book |title= Business for Higher Awards |last= Needham |first= Dave |year= 1996 |publisher=Heinemann |location=Oxford, England }}</ref> There are two theories based on the four Cs: Lauterborn's four Cs (''consumer'', ''cost'', ''communication'', ''convenience'')<ref name=Schultz>{{Citation | author1=Schultz, Don E | author2=Tannenbaum, Stanley I | author3=Lauterborn, Robert F | title=Integrated marketing communications | date=1993 | publisher=NTC Business Books | isbn=978-0-8442-3363-5 | url=https://archive.org/details/integratedmarket00schu_0 }}</ref> and Shimizu's four Cs (''commodity'', ''cost'', ''channel,'' ''communication)''. Shimizu expanded the four Cs, to the '''7Cs Compass Model''' by adding company or competitor, consumer and circumstances, to acknowledge the impact of competition, consumers who are not customers and circumstances beyond a companies control.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Marketing mix {{!}} Research Starters {{!}} EBSCO Research |url=https://www.ebsco.com/ |access-date=2026-01-23 |website=EBSCO |language=en}}</ref>
=== Research === {{Main|Advertising research}}
Advertising research is a specialized form of research that works to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of advertising. It entails numerous forms of research which employ different methodologies. Advertising research includes pre-testing (also known as copy testing) and post-testing of ads and/or campaigns.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-05-19 |title=Testing an Advertising Campaign: Pre and Post-Launch Methods • Journalism University |url=https://journalism.university/persuasive-communication/testing-advertising-campaign-pre-post-launch/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260213211258/https://journalism.university/persuasive-communication/testing-advertising-campaign-pre-post-launch/ |archive-date=2026-02-13 |access-date=2026-01-23 |work=Journalism & Mass Communication Hub |language=en-US}}</ref>
Pre-testing includes a wide range of qualitative and quantitative techniques, including: focus groups, in-depth target audience interviews (one-on-one interviews), small-scale quantitative studies and physiological measurement. The goal of this research is to better understand how different groups respond to various messages and visual prompts, thereby providing an assessment of how well the advertisement meets its communications goals.
Post-testing employs many of the same techniques as pre-testing, usually with a focus on understanding the change in awareness or attitude attributable to the advertisement.<ref>See, for instance: Panton, M. McB. (1936), "The Master Adman Nobody Knows", ''Advertising & Selling'', Vol.27, (September 10, 1936), pp.32, 46.</ref> With the emergence of digital advertising technologies, many firms have begun to continuously post-test ads using real-time data. This may take the form of A/B split-testing or multivariate testing.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Boegershausen |first=Johannes |last2=Cornil |first2=Yann |last3=Yi |first3=Shangwen |last4=Hardisty |first4=David J. |date=2025-09-01 |title=On the persistent mischaracterization of Google and Facebook A/B tests: How to conduct and report online platform studies |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167811624001149 |journal=International Journal of Research in Marketing |volume=42 |issue=3, Part B |pages=886–903 |doi=10.1016/j.ijresmar.2024.12.004 |issn=0167-8116|hdl=10397/112708 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Continuous ad tracking and the Communicus System are competing examples of post-testing advertising research types.<ref>Peeter Verlegh, Hilde Voorveld, and Martin Eisend, eds. ''Advances in Advertising Research (Vol. VI): The Digital, the Classic, the Subtle, and the Alternative'' (Springer, 2015).</ref>
=== Semiotics === {{Main|Semiotics}}
Meanings between consumers and marketers depict signs and symbols that are encoded in everyday objects.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Mick|first=Devid Glen|title=Consumer Research and Semiotics: Exploring the Morphology of Signs, Symbols, and Significance|journal=The Journal of Consumer Research|date=September 1986|volume=13|issue=2|page=196|doi=10.1086/209060}}</ref> Semiotics is the study of signs and how they are interpreted. Advertising has many hidden signs and meanings within brand names, logos, package designs, print advertisements, and television advertisements. Semiotics aims to study and interpret the message being conveyed in (for example) advertisements. These signs can be images, words, fonts, colors, slogans, or a combination which must be interpreted by the audience or consumer.<ref>{{cite book|last= Beasley|first= Ron|title= Persuasive Signs: The Semiotics of Advertising|year= 2002|publisher= Walter deGruyter GmbH & KG|location= Berlin|isbn= 978-3-11-017341-3}}</ref> The "key to advertising analysis" is the signifier and the signified. The signifier is the object and the signified is the mental concept.<ref>{{cite book|last= Pinson|first= Christian|title= Marketing Semiotics|year= 1998|url= http://flora.insead.edu/fichiersti_wp/inseadwp1998/98-39.pdf|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110816121627/http://flora.insead.edu/fichiersti_wp/inseadwp1998/98-39.pdf|archive-date= August 16, 2011|df= mdy-all}}</ref> A product has a signifier and a signified. The signifier is the color, brand name, logo design, and technology. The signified has two meanings known as denotative and connotative. The denotative meaning is the meaning of the product. A television's denotative meaning might be that it is high definition. The connotative meaning is the product's deep and hidden meaning. A connotative meaning of a television would be that it is top-of-the-line.<ref>{{cite book|last= Umiker-Sebeok|first= Donna Jean|title= Marketing and Semiotics|year= 1987|publisher= Walter de Gruyter & Co.|location= Berlin}}</ref>
Apple's iPod commercials, starting in 2003,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Francis |first=Abey |date=2023-11-28 |title=Case Study: Apple iPod Silhouette Ad Campaign |url=https://www.mbaknol.com/management-case-studies/case-study-apple-ipod-silhouette-ad-campaign/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251031064220/https://mbaknol.com/management-case-studies/case-study-apple-ipod-silhouette-ad-campaign/ |archive-date=2025-10-31 |access-date=2026-01-23 |website=MBA Knowledge Base |language=en-US}}</ref> used a black silhouette of a person that was the age of Apple's target market. They placed the silhouette in front of a blue screen so that the picture behind the silhouette could be constantly changing. However, the one thing that stays the same in these ads is that there is music in the background and the silhouette is listening to that music on a white iPod through white headphones. Through advertising, the white color on a set of earphones now signifies that the music device is an iPod. The white color signifies almost all of Apple's products.<ref>{{cite web|last= Salsburey|first= Justin|title= Semiotic analysis of iPod Advertisements|url= http://sites.google.com/site/jsalsburey/macintoshsemiotics|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130521105135/https://sites.google.com/site/jsalsburey/macintoshsemiotics|archive-date= May 21, 2013|df= mdy-all}}</ref>
==Criticisms== {{Main|Criticism of advertising}}
{{see also|Racial stereotyping in advertising}} [[File:Ballet Star Kathryn Lee advertises Camel cigarettes, 1948.jpg|thumb|''"More Doctors Smoke Camels than Any Other Cigarette"'' advertisement for Camel cigarettes in the 1940s]] While advertising can be seen as necessary for economic growth,<ref name="Leach367" /> it is not without social costs. Unsolicited commercial e-mail and other forms of spam became so common it was considered to be a nuisance, as well as being a financial burden on internet service providers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://interviews.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/03/03/1528247&tid=111 |title=Slashdot | ISP Operator Barry Shein Answers Spam Questions |publisher=Interviews.slashdot.org |date=March 3, 2003 |access-date=April 20, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813200327/http://interviews.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03%2F03%2F03%2F1528247&tid=111 |archive-date=August 13, 2009 }}</ref> Advertising is increasingly prevalent in public spaces, such as schools, which some critics argue is unethical.<ref>{{cite web |title=How Marketers Target Kids |url=http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/parents/marketing/marketers_target_kids.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416200521/http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/parents/marketing/marketers_target_kids.cfm |archive-date=April 16, 2009 |access-date=January 18, 2014}}</ref> In tandem with these criticisms, the advertising industry has seen low approval rates in surveys and negative cultural portrayals.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cohen |first1=Andrew C. |last2=Dromi |first2=Shai M. |title=Advertising morality: maintaining moral worth in a stigmatized profession |journal=Theory & Society |volume=47 |issue=2 |pages=175–206 |doi=10.1007/s11186-018-9309-7 |year=2018 |s2cid=49319915 |url=http://osf.io/h6kvu/|url-access=subscription }}</ref> A 2021 study of TV advertising found that only a third of advertisers achieved a positive return on investment.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shapiro |first1=Bradley T. |last2=Hitsch |first2=Günter J. |last3=Tuchman |first3=Anna E. |date=2021 |title=TV Advertising Effectiveness and Profitability: Generalizable Results From 288 Brands |journal=Econometrica |language=en |volume=89 |issue=4 |pages=1855–1879 |doi=10.3982/ECTA17674 |s2cid=233474042 |issn=1468-0262|doi-access=free }}</ref> Unsolicited ads have been criticized as attention theft.<ref name="Wired">{{cite news |last1=Wu |first1=Tim |date=April 14, 2017 |title=The Crisis of Attention Theft—Ads That Steal Your Time for Nothing in Return |url=https://www.wired.com/2017/04/forcing-ads-captive-audience-attention-theft-crime |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804041311/https://www.wired.com/2017/04/forcing-ads-captive-audience-attention-theft-crime/ |archive-date=August 4, 2021 |access-date=August 9, 2021 |magazine=Wired |authorlink=Tim Wu}}</ref>
One of the common criticisms of advertising is the predominance of advertising foods high in sugar, fat, and salt specifically to children. Critics claim that food advertisements targeting children are exploitative and are not conducive with nutritional education to help children understand the consequences of their food choices. Children may not understand that they are being sold something, and may therefore be more impressionable.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gussow |first1=Joan |title=Counternutritional Messages of TV Ads Aimed at Children |journal=Journal of Nutrition Education |volume=4 |issue=2 |date=March 2, 1972 |pages=48–52 |doi=10.1016/S0022-3182(72)80136-5}}</ref> Michelle Obama criticized food companies for advertising unhealthy foods to children.<ref>{{cite news |title=First Lady to Food Companies: Make Healthier Ads for Kids Now |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/first-lady-to-food-companies-make-healthier-ads-for-kids-now |publisher=CBS |access-date=April 20, 2015 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427111344/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/first-lady-to-food-companies-make-healthier-ads-for-kids-now |archive-date=April 27, 2015 }}</ref> Other criticisms include the influence of advertising on society and that some advertising can deceive. Cosmetic and health industry advertising has created causes of concern, such as being misleading.<ref>{{cite web |last=Priyadarshini |first=Sayee |title=Misleading Ads – be Wary!! |url=http://www.actnownews.com/deceiving-misleading-ads |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507012033/http://www.actnownews.com/deceiving-misleading-ads/ |archive-date=May 7, 2016 |access-date=May 6, 2016}}</ref> Political advertising has been scrutinized for misinformation, ethics and political bias.<ref name="y759">{{cite web |last=Fischer |first=Sara |date=13 August 2024 |title=Harris-sponsored Google ads suggest publishers are on her side |url=https://www.axios.com/2024/08/13/harris-campaign-google-poltical-ads-news-publishers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240813190136/https://www.axios.com/2024/08/13/harris-campaign-google-poltical-ads-news-publishers |archive-date=13 August 2024 |access-date=14 August 2024 |website=Axios}}</ref>
== Regulation == There have been increasing efforts to protect people by regulating the content and influence of advertising. Some examples include restrictions for advertising alcohol, tobacco or gambling imposed in many countries, as well as bans on advertising to children, in some parts of Europe. Some advertising regulation focuses heavily on the veracity of claims and as such, there are often tighter restrictions placed around advertisements for food and healthcare products.<ref name="UK_advertising">{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/marketing-advertising-law/overview |title=Marketing and Advertising: The Law |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office |date=January 15, 2016 |access-date=September 5, 2016 |author=UK_advertising |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924105931/https://www.gov.uk/marketing-advertising-law/overview |archive-date=September 24, 2016 }}</ref>
The advertising industries within some countries rely less on laws and more on systems of self-regulation.<ref name="UK_advertising" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asa.co.nz/ |title=Advertising Standards Authority |publisher=Advertising Standards Authority |access-date=September 5, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160831014312/http://www.asa.co.nz/ |archive-date=August 31, 2016 }}</ref><ref name=asasa>{{Citation|title=Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa: About Us|url=http://www.asasa.org.za/Default.aspx?mnu_id=10/|access-date=July 5, 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303202014/http://www.asasa.org.za/Default.aspx?mnu_id=10%2F|archive-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref> Advertisers and the media agree on a code of advertising standards that they attempt to uphold. The general aim of such codes is to ensure that any advertising is 'legal, decent, honest and truthful'. Some self-regulatory organizations are funded by the industry, but remain independent, with the intent of upholding the standards or codes like the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.asa.org.uk/About-ASA/About-regulation |title=About Regulation Our Framework |publisher=ASA.org.uk |access-date=October 5, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007111318/https://www.asa.org.uk/About-ASA/About-regulation |archive-date=October 7, 2015 }}</ref>
In the UK, most forms of outdoor advertising, are regulated by the UK Town and County Planning system. The display of some advertisements without consent is a criminal offence liable to a fine of £2,500.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 6, 2014 |title=What happens if an advertisement is displayed without the necessary consent? |url=http://planningguidance.planningportal.gov.uk/blog/guidance/advertisments/is-consent-from-the-local-planning-authority-always-required-to-display-advertisements/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006191802/http://planningguidance.planningportal.gov.uk/blog/guidance/advertisments/is-consent-from-the-local-planning-authority-always-required-to-display-advertisements/ |archive-date=October 6, 2015 |access-date=October 5, 2015 |publisher=PlanningGuidance.PlanningPortal.gov.uk}}</ref> In the US, where some communities believe that outdoor advertising is a blight on some landscapes, attempts to ban billboard advertising occurred in the 1960s, leading to the ''Highway Beautification Act''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/beauty.cfm |title=How the Highway Beautification Act Became a Law |publisher=Fhwa.dot.gov |access-date=April 20, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090604005907/http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/beauty.htm| archive-date= June 4, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> Cities such as São Paulo have introduced an outright ban.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/12/world/americas/12iht-brazil.html |title=Billboard ban in São Paulo angers advertisers – Americas |newspaper=International Herald Tribune |date=December 12, 2006 |access-date=January 20, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226112132/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/12/world/americas/12iht-brazil.html |archive-date=February 26, 2014 }}</ref>
Some governments restrict the languages that can be used in advertisements, but advertisers may employ tactics to try to avoid them. In France for instance, advertisers sometimes print English words in bold and French translations in fine print to deal with Article 120 of the 1994 Toubon Law limiting the use of English.<ref>Bhatia and Ritchie 2006:542</ref>
The advertising of pricing information is another topic of concern for governments. In the United States for instance, it is common for businesses to only mention the existence and amount of applicable taxes at a later stage of a transaction.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dor.wa.gov/content/getaformorpublication/publicationbysubject/taxtopics/TaxIncluded.aspx |title=Advertising – Tax Included in Price |publisher=Department of Revenue, Washington State |access-date=September 5, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827174442/http://dor.wa.gov/Content/GetAFormOrPublication/PublicationBySubject/TaxTopics/TaxIncluded.aspx |archive-date=August 27, 2016 }}</ref> In Canada and New Zealand, taxes can be listed as separate items, as long as they are quoted up-front.<ref>{{cite web |title=Advertising Requirements |url=http://www.tico.ca/industry-info/advertising-requirements.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918231329/http://www.tico.ca/industry-info/advertising-requirements.html |archive-date=September 18, 2016 |access-date=September 5, 2016 |publisher=Travel Industry Council of Ontario}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Pricing |url=https://www.consumerprotection.govt.nz/get-guidance/shopping-and-buying/pricing/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913213536/https://www.consumerprotection.govt.nz/get-guidance/shopping-and-buying/pricing/ |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |access-date=September 5, 2016 |publisher=Consumer Protection}}</ref> In most other countries, the advertised price must include all applicable taxes, enabling customers to easily know how much it will cost them.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.accc.gov.au/business/pricing-surcharging/displaying-prices |title=Displaying Prices |publisher=Australian Competition and Consumer Commission |access-date=September 5, 2016 |author=ACCC |date=September 11, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913152407/http://www.accc.gov.au/business/pricing-surcharging/displaying-prices |archive-date=September 13, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/Display-Code.aspx?CodeId=%7B1BB5E9A2-C840-46CB-8211-88E7E34E61B7%7D&ItemId=%7B37D44B06-C5E4-430C-A161-035555C10543%7D |title=Relevant Code Rule |publisher=Advertising Standards Authority |access-date=September 5, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105203616/https://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/Display-Code.aspx?CodeId=%7B1BB5E9A2-C840-46CB-8211-88E7E34E61B7%7D&ItemId=%7B37D44B06-C5E4-430C-A161-035555C10543%7D |archive-date=November 5, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=May 31, 2016 |title=Display of Prices for Goods and Services |url=http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer_affairs/consumer_protection/pricing/price_display_of_goods_and_services.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828161455/http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer_affairs/consumer_protection/pricing/price_display_of_goods_and_services.html |archive-date=August 28, 2016 |access-date=September 5, 2016 |publisher=Citizens Information}}</ref>
== Gender interpretation and portrayal == According to a 1977 study by David Statt, females process information comprehensively, while males process information through heuristic devices such as procedures, methods or strategies for solving problems, which could effect how they interpret advertising. Men prefer to have cues to interpret the message, whereas females engage in more creative, associative and imagery-laced interpretation.<ref>{{cite book|last= Statt|first= David|title= Understanding the Consumer – A Psychological Approach|year= 1977|publisher= Macmillan Press|location= London}}</ref> Later research found that advertising attempts to persuade men to improve their appearance or performance, whereas its approach to women aims at transformation towards an impossible ideal of female presentation.<ref>Vestergaard and Schrøder, ''The Language of Advertising'', 75</ref>
Paul Suggett's article "The Objectification of Women in Advertising" discusses the negative impact of portraying unrealistic ideals of female beauty in advertisements on women, as well as men.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Suggett |first=Paul |date=December 21, 2016 |title=Advertising Sets Impossible Standards for Women |url=https://www.thebalance.com/advertising-women-and-objectification-38754 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326082225/https://www.thebalance.com/advertising-women-and-objectification-38754 |archive-date=March 26, 2017 |access-date=May 7, 2017 |work=The Balance}}</ref> Studies show that these expectations on women and young girls can negatively affect their views about their bodies and appearance, although others disagree with these findings.<ref>Splendora, "Discourse", Review of Vestergaard and Schrøder, ''The Language of Advertising'' in ''Language in Society,'' 449</ref> There are some companies like Dove that are creating commercials to portray more natural women and all forms of beauty, via their Campaign for Real Beauty.<ref>{{Cite web|title=20 years on: Dove and the future of Real Beauty {{!}} Unilever|url=https://www.unilever.com/news/news-search/2024/20-years-on-dove-and-the-future-of-real-beauty/|website=Unilever|access-date=2026-01-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251116205706/https://www.unilever.com/news/news-search/2024/20-years-on-dove-and-the-future-of-real-beauty/|archive-date=November 16, 2025|language=en|url-status=live}}</ref>
Research by Martin in 2003 revealed that males and females react differently to advertising depending on their mood at the time of ad exposure and the tone of the advertising. When feeling sad, males prefer happy ads to boost their mood. In contrast, females prefer happy ads when they are feeling happy.<ref> Martin, Brett A. S. (2003), [http://www.basmartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Martin-2003.pdf "The Influence of Gender on Mood Effects in Advertising"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025120035/http://www.basmartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Martin-2003.pdf |date=October 25, 2012 }}, ''Psychology and Marketing'',20 (3), 249–73.</ref> Susan Wojcicki, author of the article "Ads that Empower Women don't just Break Stereotypes—They're also Effective" discusses how advertising to women has changed since the first Barbie commercial, where a little girl tells the doll that, she wants to be just like her.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wojcicki |first=Susan |author-link=Susan Wojcicki |date=April 24, 2016 |title=Ads That Empower Women Don't Just Break Stereotypes—They're Also Effective |url=http://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/ads-empower-women-don-t-just-break-stereotypes-they-re-also-effective-170953/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326152331/http://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/ads-empower-women-don-t-just-break-stereotypes-they-re-also-effective-170953/ |archive-date=March 26, 2017 |access-date=May 7, 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref>
== "Fathers" of advertising == * Late 1700s – Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) – "father of advertising in America"<ref name="HJSJ">Winfield Scott Downs, American Historical Company, American Historical Society, 1940 – Biography & Autobiography (pp. 260–263) [https://books.google.com/books?id=kpoMAQAAMAAJ&q=%22father%20of%20advertising%22%20franklin%20smythe&pg=RA2-PA260] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221227161857/https://books.google.com/books?id=kpoMAQAAMAAJ&vq=%22father%20of%20advertising%22%20franklin%20smythe&pg=RA2-PA260|date=December 27, 2022}} J. Henry Smythe, Jr – "the world's best known slogan writer... compiled and edited "The Amazing Benjamin Franklin," published in 1929 ... approved by the American Library Association. ... Over forty official contributions ... Each paid tribute to some special "side" of Franklin ... "Franklin, the Printer," is a Craftsman, Father of Advertising in America, Editor, Publisher ..."</ref> * Late 1800s – Thomas J. Barratt (1841–1914) of London – called "the father of modern advertising" by T.F.G. Coates<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Global Ad Spend Share, by Medium, 2021-2024 (f) - Marketing Charts |url=https://www.marketingcharts.com/charts/global-ad-spend-share-by-medium-2021-2024-f |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326123058/https://www.marketingcharts.com/charts/global-ad-spend-share-by-medium-2021-2024-f |archive-date=2023-03-26 |access-date=2026-01-21 |website=Marketing Charts |language=en-US}}</ref> * Early 1900s – J. Henry ("Slogan") Smythe Jr of Philadelphia – "world's best known slogan writer"<ref name="HJSJ" /> * Early 1900s – Albert Lasker (1880–1952) – the "father of modern advertising"; defined advertising as "salesmanship in print, driven by a reason why"<ref>{{cite web| url = https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Introduction_to_Mass_Media/Advertising| title = Introduction to Mass Media/Advertising|author=William Hart and his graduate students in MCM510|location=Norfolk State University|publisher=Wikibooks}}</ref>
===Influential thinkers in advertising theory and practice=== {{Div col|small=no|colwidth=30em}} * N. W. Ayer & Son – probably the first advertising agency to use mass media (i.e. telegraph) in a promotional campaign * Claude C. Hopkins (1866–1932) – popularised the use of test campaigns, especially coupons in direct mail, to track the efficiency of marketing spend * Ernest Dichter (1907–1991) – developed the field of motivational research, used extensively in advertising * E. St. Elmo Lewis (1872–1948) – developed the first hierarchy of effects model (AIDA) used in sales and advertising * Arthur Nielsen (1897–1980) – founded one of the earliest international advertising agencies and developed ratings for radio & TV * David Ogilvy (1911–1999) – pioneered the positioning concept and advocated of the use of brand image in advertising * Charles Coolidge Parlin (1872–1942) – regarded as the pioneer of the use of marketing research in advertising * Rosser Reeves (1910–1984) – developed the concept of the unique selling proposition (USP) and advocated the use of repetition in advertising * Al Ries (1926–2022) – advertising executive, author and credited with coining the term "positioning" in the late 1960s * Daniel Starch (1883–1979) – developed the Starch score method of measuring print media effectiveness (still in use) * J Walter Thompson – one of the earliest advertising agencies {{div col end}}
== See also == {{Portal|Business and economics|Media}} * {{annotated link|Advertisements in schools}} * {{annotated link|Advertorial}} * {{annotated link|Ambush marketing}} * {{annotated link|Annoyance factor}} * {{annotated link|Bibliography of advertising}} * {{annotated link|Branded content}} * {{annotated link|Commercial speech}} * {{annotated link|Comparative advertising}} * {{annotated link|Conquesting}}] * {{annotated link|Copywriting}} * {{annotated link|Demo mode}} * {{annotated link|Direct-to-consumer advertising}} * {{annotated link|False advertising}} * {{annotated link|Family in advertising}} * {{annotated link|Graphic design}} * {{annotated link|Gross rating point}} * {{annotated link|Guerrilla marketing}} * {{annotated link|History of Advertising Trust}} * {{annotated link|Informative advertising}} * {{annotated link|Integrated marketing communications}} * List of advertising awards * {{annotated link|Local advertising}} * {{annotated link|Market overhang}} * {{annotated link|Media planning}} * {{annotated link|Meta-advertising}} * {{annotated link|Mobile marketing}} * {{annotated link|Performance-based advertising}} * {{annotated link|Promotional mix}} * {{annotated link|Senior media creative}} * {{annotated link|Shock advertising}} * {{annotated link|Surrogate advertising}} * {{annotated link|Viral marketing}} * {{annotated link|World Federation of Advertisers}}
== References == '''Notes''' {{Reflist}}
== Further reading == {{refbegin|30em}} * Arens, William, and Michael Weigold. ''Contemporary Advertising: And Integrated Marketing Communications'' (2012) * Belch, George E., and Michael A. Belch. ''Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective'' (10th ed. 2014) * Biocca, Frank. ''Television and Political Advertising: Volume I: Psychological Processes'' (Routledge, 2013) * Chandra, Ambarish, and Ulrich Kaiser. "Targeted advertising in magazine markets and the advent of the internet." ''Management Science'' 60.7 (2014) pp: 1829–1843. * Chen, Yongmin, and Chuan He. "Paid placement: Advertising and search on the internet*." ''The Economic Journal'' 121#556 (2011): F309–F328. [http://www.stern.nyu.edu/networks/06-02_Chen_He_Paid_Placement.pdf online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304201829/http://www.stern.nyu.edu/networks/06-02_Chen_He_Paid_Placement.pdf |date=March 4, 2016 }} * Johnson-Cartee, Karen S., and Gary Copeland. ''Negative political advertising: Coming of age'' (2013) * McAllister, Matthew P. and Emily West, eds. ''HardcoverThe Routledge Companion to Advertising and Promotional Culture'' (2013) * McFall, Elizabeth Rose ''Advertising: a cultural economy'' (2004), cultural and sociological approaches to advertising * Moriarty, Sandra, and Nancy Mitchell. ''Advertising & IMC: Principles and Practice'' (10th ed. 2014) * Okorie, Nelson. ''The Principles of Advertising: concepts and trends in advertising'' (2011) * Reichert, Tom, and Jacqueline Lambiase, eds. ''Sex in advertising: Perspectives on the erotic appeal'' (Routledge, 2014) * Sheehan, Kim Bartel. ''Controversies in contemporary advertising'' (Sage Publications, 2013) * Vestergaard, Torben and Schrøder, Kim. ''The Language of Advertising.'' Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1985. {{ISBN|0-631-12743-7}} ** Splendora, Anthony. "Discourse", a Review of Vestergaard and Schrøder, ''The Language of Advertising'' in ''Language in Society'' Vol. 15, No. 4 (Dec. 1986), pp. 445–449
=== History === {{Main|History of advertising#Further reading}} * Brandt, Allan. [https://books.google.com/books?id=yybaN6j4IpEC&pg=PA31 ''The Cigarette Century'' (2009)] * Crawford, Robert. ''But Wait, There's More!: A History of Australian Advertising, 1900–2000'' (2008) * Ewen, Stuart. ''Captains of Consciousness: Advertising and the Social Roots of Consumer Culture''. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976. {{ISBN|0-07-019846-2}} * Fox, Stephen R. ''The mirror makers: A history of American advertising and its creators'' (University of Illinois Press, 1984) * Friedman, Walter A. ''Birth of a Salesman'' (Harvard University Press, 2005), In the United States * Jacobson, Lisa. ''Raising consumers: Children and the American mass market in the early twentieth century'' (Columbia University Press, 2013) * Jamieson, Kathleen Hall. ''Packaging the presidency: A history and criticism of presidential campaign advertising'' (Oxford University Press, 1996) * Laird, Pamela Walker. ''Advertising progress: American business and the rise of consumer marketing'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.) * Lears, Jackson. ''Fables of abundance: A cultural history of advertising in America'' (1995) * Liguori, Maria Chiara. "North and South: Advertising Prosperity in the Italian Economic Boom Years." ''Advertising & Society Review'' (2015) 15#4 * Meyers, Cynthia B. ''A Word from Our Sponsor: Admen, Advertising, and the Golden Age of Radio'' (2014) * Mazzarella, William. ''Shoveling smoke: Advertising and globalization in contemporary India'' (Duke University Press, 2003) * Moriarty, Sandra, et al. ''Advertising: Principles and practice'' (Pearson Australia, 2014), Australian perspectives * Nevett, Terence R. ''Advertising in Britain: a history'' (1982) * Oram, Hugh. ''The advertising book: The history of advertising in Ireland'' (MOL Books, 1986) * Presbrey, Frank. "The history and development of advertising." ''Advertising & Society Review'' (2000) 1#1 [http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asr/v001/1.1presbrey.html online] * Saunders, Thomas J. "Selling under the Swastika: Advertising and Commercial Culture in Nazi Germany." ''German History'' (2014): ghu058. * Short, John Phillip. "Advertising Empire: Race and Visual Culture in Imperial Germany." ''Enterprise and Society'' (2014): khu013. * Sivulka, Juliann. ''Soap, sex, and cigarettes: A cultural history of American advertising'' (Cengage Learning, 2011) * Spring, Dawn. "The Globalization of American Advertising and Brand Management: A Brief History of the J. Walter Thompson Company, Proctor and Gamble, and US Foreign Policy." ''Global Studies Journal'' (2013). 5#4 * Stephenson, Harry Edward, and Carlton McNaught. ''The Story of Advertising in Canada: A Chronicle of Fifty Years'' (Ryerson Press, 1940) * Tungate, Mark. ''Adland: a global history of advertising'' (Kogan Page Publishers, 2007.) * West, Darrell M. ''Air Wars: Television Advertising and Social Media in Election Campaigns, 1952–2012'' (Sage, 2013) {{refend}}
== External links == {{sister project links|auto=1|wikt=Advertising|n=y|s=Portal:Advertising|v=y|d=Q37038}} {{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=no |others=yes |lcheading=Advertising}} * [http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/hartman/index.html Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History at Duke University] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106134741/http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/hartman/index.html |date=January 6, 2014 }} ** Duke University Libraries Digital Collections: *** [http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/adaccess/ Ad*Access], over 7,000 U.S. and Canadian advertisements, dated 1911–1955, includes World War II propaganda. *** [http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/eaa/ Emergence of Advertising in America], 9,000 advertising items and publications dating from 1850 to 1940, illustrating the rise of consumer culture and the birth of a professionalized advertising industry in the United States. *** [http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/adviews/ AdViews], vintage television commercials *** [http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/outdooradvertising/ ROAD 2.0], 30,000 outdoor advertising images *** [http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/mma/ Medicine & Madison Avenue], documents advertising of medical and pharmaceutical products
{{Product advertising}} {{Media manipulation}} {{Media culture}} {{Aspects of capitalism}} {{Authority control}}
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