Advertising dates back thousands of years. Changes caused by industrialization
and the Civil War fueled its growth, with magazines being an important vehicle
for advertising. Radio, then television, changed the nature of advertising,
as commercials in turn changed the nature of each medium. Although many see
advertising as a critical aspect of our capitalistic society, others find it
intrusive, deceptive, and demeaning to our culture. The 6,000 advertising agencies in the United States are paid either through
retainers or commissions. Types of ads include retail, direct market, institutional,
and public service. The link between seeing an ad and buying the advertising
product is tenuous at best. New methods of cyberadvertising have developed over the past several years,
such as transaction journalism and intermercials. Other important developments
are increasingly fragmented audiences and globalization. |
2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education