Advertising

Advertising is a form of marketing communication intended to persuade
an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to purchase or take some
action upon products, ideals, or services. Advertising (reclame)
includes the name of a product or service and how that product or
service could benefit the consumer, to persuade a target market to
purchase or to consume that particular brand.
These brands are usually paid for or identified through sponsors and
viewed via various media. Advertising (of reclame) can also serve to
communicate an idea to a large number of people in an attempt to
convince them to take a certain action.

Commercial advertisers often seek to generate increased consumption of their products or services
through branding, which involves the repetition of an image or product
name in an effort to associate related qualities with the brand in the
minds of consumers.
Non-commercial advertisers that spend money to advertise items other
than a consumer product or service include political parties, interest
groups, religious organizations and governmental agencies. Nonprofit organizations may rely on free modes of persuasion, such as a public service announcement.

Modern advertising developed with the rise of mass production in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Mass media
can be defined as any media meant to reach a mass amount of people.
Different types of media can be used to deliver these messages,
including traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio, outdoor or direct mail; or new media such as websites and text messages. Advertising may be placed by an advertising agency on behalf of a company or other organization.

In 2007, spending on advertising was estimated at more than $150 billion in the United States and $385 billion worldwide