What exactly is advertising?

Advertising is the art and science behind telling people about the type of stuff they buy – like cars, shoes, phones and fast food – or the places they shop – like drugstores, pet food stores, jean stores at the mall –  and services they use – like hair salons, nail salons, banks and gyms.

So, when you see advertising, that’s what we make for a living. And there are lots of kinds of advertising, including:

• TV & Radio ads
• Magazine and newspaper
• Outdoor ads – billboards, bus shelter ads, bench advertising
• Online & Digital – pre-rolls, display ads on websites
• Direct advertising – emails, direct mail
• Promotions, Samplings & special events
• Social – Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, influencers
• Media – planning & buying, search

The thing about advertising is that it’s everywhere, so maybe it’s become invisible to you. But behind every ad are hundreds of people working together to come up with a smart, new way of getting a strong message to a consumer. It takes intelligent, talented people to come up with a great ad, but it can really pay off when an ad “hits”. Suddenly consumers want to try a product they didn’t even know existed, and companies make big money this way. Like having a hit song…but, you know, with shampoo.

And advertising is a really big business, employing over 25,000 people at advertising agencies in Canada alone. Plus thousands of other people in TV, radio, printing, publishing, photography, translation, and so much more. But it’s an industry that works quietly, behind the scenes, which is why you may not even know we exist. But we do exist, and what we do is a lot of fun.