Advertising can be traced back to the very beginnings of recorded history. Archaeologists working in countries around the Mediterranean Sea have dug up signs announcing various events and offers. The Romans painted walls to announce gladiator fights, and the Phoenicians painted pictures on large rocks to promote their wares along parade routes. During the golden age in Greece, town criers announced the sale of cattle, crafted items, and even cosmetics. An early “singing commercial” went as follows: “For eyes that are shining, for cheeks like the dawn/For beauty that lasts after girlhood is gone/For prices in reason, the woman who knows/Will buy her cosmetics from Aesclyptos.”

Modern advertising, however, is a far cry from these early efforts. U.S. advertisers now run up an estimated annual bill of nearly $190 billion on measured advertising media; worldwide ad spending is an estimated $545 billion. P&G, the world’s largest advertiser, spent more than $4.6 billion on U.S. advertising and $11.5 billion worldwide.2

Although advertising is used mostly by business firms, a wide range of not-for-profit organizations, professionals, and social agencies also use advertising to promote their causes to various target publics. In fact, the 39th-largest U.S. advertising spender is a not-for-profit organization—the U.S. government, which advertises in many ways. For example, its Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spent $70 million on the fourth year of an anti-smoking advertising campaign titled “Tips from a Former Smoker,” showing people who have paid dearly due to smoking-related diseases.3 Advertising is a good way to engage, inform, and persuade, whether the purpose is to sell Coca-Cola worldwide, help smokers kick the habit, or educate people in developing nations on how to lead healthier lives.

Marketing management must make four important decisions when developing an advertising program (see Figure 15.1): setting advertising objectives, setting the advertising budget, developing advertising strategy (message decisions and media decisions), and evaluating advertising effectiveness.

Figure 15.1

Major Advertising Decisions