Advertising has been the backbone of the business world since the Egyptian times and possibly even earlier than that. The Egyptians would use papyrus to advertise different political campaigns and there have been advertisements found on the walls of the ruins of Pompeii and ancient Arabia. So, advertising is not an invention of the 20th century but a mere tactic that was developed centuries ago. Advertising is a multi-billion dollar effort to help business owners get their message out about their products and services to consumers locally, nationwide or worldwide.

If it weren't for advertising, the business world would not be as successful as it is each and every day. Advertisers place ads in hundreds of different places for consumers to see. Ads appear most commonly on television, radio, previews before movies, in magazines, on the sides of buses, on billboards, on business' vehicles and in the daily newspaper. Advertising is an expensive, yet rewarding venture for a business owner. The most popular day of advertising in the United States is the Super Bowl each year. This is when companies release brand new television commercials that air during the most watched football game of the season. They do pay a pretty penny for the ad time though. Some slots for ads during the game cost around 3 million dollars for a 30 second spot.

Advertising spending will surpass 500 billion dollars worldwide by the year 2010 and will continue to increase as long as the public continues to consume goods. Advertising has gone through different modes of conveying a business owner's message through the years. Advertising has developed from simple billboard pictures to elaborate television and radio spots that include special effects, famous actors, announcers and other important public figures. Nowadays athletes and actors have become focal points of advertising. These figures are paid a stipulated amount of money to sponsor someone's product. The most recent example is Derek Jeter and Gatorade's product G2.

Advertising, like the title says, is the backbone of business. If business owners and major corporations did not use any means of advertising then their product's information would never reach the public and it wouldn't sell on the market. This would more than likely put them out of business. If businesses wish to be successful in selling products and goods they must delve into the advertising world to reach their clientele.

There are two ways for advertisers to determine how to market a product on television or on radio. For television, advertisers look at the Nielson Ratings each quarter to see how many people across the country tuned in to a specific station or show. For radio, advertisers look at the Arbitron Ratings to see how many people tuned into a specific time slot or radio station. Both of these forms of ratings measurements are not 100 percent effective though and some times have to be taken with a grain of salt. The ratings systems are based off of a handful of people that record in a booklet what they have watched on television or listened to on the radio and then it is calculated for the remainder of the country.

Advertising is the backbone of business and without advertising the retail market would not be as successful as it is today.