Advertisement is a non personal mass medium by which businessmen communicate with their customers. It includes all the visual or oral messages transmitted to the people. The advertisers pay for transmitting relevant messages through appropriate media. It aims at reaching out to a large group of target audience. It also target to inform the audience and influence their buying behaviour, or to incline the target audience favourably towards institutions, ideas or persons that have been featured.

The objective of advertising is to enhance brand equity. Brand equity increases when large number of customers is aware of that brand. Advertising helps in achieving the business interests of an organisation. It would not be incorrect to say that advertising attains greater significance for standardized products which are aimed at large markets. It is a powerful tool for business organisations to promote goodwill, increase sales and to create awareness.

Advertisement also involves significant financial implications. The objectives achieved by way of advertisement may or may not be commensurate with the incurred expenses. Successful advertising depends on the right combination of various factors such as market trends, brand preference and the media used to target audience.

As a non personal indirect means of communication with the prospects by means of various media advertisement reaches a large number of customers. It differs from publicity in the sense that publicity may or may not have an identified sponsor, whereas advertising always has an identified sponsor and it is a paid form of communication. We can even say that advertisement is as paid publicity.

It is both, an art and a science. It is the art of bringing about the desired effects amongst the target group by way of exposing them to mass produced messages. It involves the science of human psychology to ensure effectiveness of the message.