Advertising is a form of communication that typically attempts
to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a
particular brand of product or service. Many advertisements are
designed to generate increased consumption of those products and
services through the creation and reinforcement of "brand image" and
"brand loyalty". For these purposes, advertisements sometimes embed
their persuasive message with factual information. Every major medium
is used to deliver these messages, including television, radio, cinema,
magazines, newspapers, video games, the Internet and billboards.
Advertising is often placed by an advertising agency on behalf of a
company or other organization.
Organizations that frequently spend large sums of money on advertising
that sells what is not, strictly speaking, a product or service include
political parties, interest groups, religious organizations, and
military recruiters. Non-profit organizations are not typical
advertising clients, and may rely on free modes of persuasion, such as
public service announcements.
Advertising spending has increased dramatically in recent years. In
2006, spending on advertising has been estimated at $155 billion in the
United Statesand $385 billion worldwide, and the latter to exceed $500
billion by 2010.
While advertising can be seen as necessary for economic growth, it is
not without social costs. Unsolicited Commercial Email and other forms
of spam have become so prevalent as to have become a major nuisance to
users of these services, as well as being a financial burden on
internet service providers. Advertising is increasingly invading public
spaces, such as schools, which some critics argue is a form of child
exploitation.