Advertising

Advertising is paid, one-way communication through a medium in which the sponsor is identified and the message is controlled. Variations of advertising include publicity, public relations, product placement and sponsorship. Every major medium is used to deliver advertising, including television, radio, movies, magazines, newspapers, the Internet, and billboards.

Advertising can also be seen on the seats of grocery carts, on the walls of an airport, on the sides of buses, heard in telephone hold messages and in-store PA systems. Advertising is usually placed anywhere an audience can easily and/or frequently access visuals and/or audio, especially on clothing.

Advertising clients are predominantly, but not exclusively, for-profit corporations seeking to increase demand for their products or services. Some organisations that frequently spend large sums of money on advertising but do not strictly sell a product or service to the general public include political parties, charities, interest groups and the military advertising for new recruits.

Additionally, some non-profit making organisations are not typical advertising clients and rely upon free channels, such as public service announcements. For instance, a well-known exception to the use of commercial advertising is Krispy Kreme doughnuts, which relies on word-of-mouth.

Advertising is a large industry and is growing, in the United States for example the advertising spend for 2005 topped $144 billion. The global advertising spend for that same year is estimated to be around $385 billion. Whilst advertising is can be seen as necessary for economic growth, it is not without social costs and advertising increasingly invades public spaces.

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