Advertising defined - paid communications by a company or organizization with the intention of promoting their goods, services, products, or cause. In it's simplest form, advertising is a sponsored message by a business to promote it's products to increase sales. But advertising is performed by more than just businesses; organizations like political parties advertise to promote their cause, as can be seen during political campaigns. Advertising is paid sponsorships designed to sway opinions in favor of the sponsor.

How important is advertising? Advertising is a function of most businesses but it is an industry in itself. With ad spending projected to grow to $500 billion by 2010 (as reported by accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers), ad agencies, production companies, design firms, and the like design and create ads, billboards, commercials, jingles, etc. for revenue and profit.

Advertising is everywhere and the bigger the reach the more companies are willing to pay to have their ads available. The biggest yearly advertising event is the Super Bowl where businesses spend up to $2.5 million for each 30 second television commercial spot. With millions of worldwide viewers it's no wonder that businesses are willing to pay such a high price; many even launch new ad campaigns and showcase new commercials during the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl has become not just a showcase of the biggest football event but also a showcase of advertising. Some of the most successful Super Bowl ads develop excitement or controversy and get further free publicity by the media for months after the event.

Relatively recently, online advertising has been outpacing growth of traditional advertising mediums, including radio, television, direct mail, billboard advertising, and newspaper classifieds. Leading the way is Google and their online text ads that are shown along side Google search results as well as on a network of affiliate websites. But it's not only Google text ads; there is also banner advertising, sponsored ads, and email advertising. Many marketers realize the reach of the interenet and are allocating there ad resources accordingly.

Advertising is an art. Great advertising can help make a business successful. Alternatively, advertising can sometimes backfire and cause a business to lose goodwill and lose customers if they find the ads insulting. This is evident in the many failed political ads that attack opponents unsuccessfully. Advertising works, but it must be done properly.