What is the primary purpose of advertising?

The primary purpose of advertising is to inform, persuade, and remind consumers about products or services. This multifaceted objective is fundamental to the advertising field. Informing consumers involves educating them about a product's features, benefits, and uses. Persuasion seeks to influence consumer attitudes and behaviors to encourage them to choose a particular brand or product over others. Lastly, reminding consumers helps maintain awareness and recall of a product or service, which is especially important for established products in competitive markets.

While entertaining consumers may play a role in advertising—by making ads more engaging and memorable—the overarching goal is not entertainment itself. Likewise, while a competitive market is beneficial for consumers and the economy, advertising's main role isn't to create competition but rather to communicate value to consumers. Focusing solely on sales increases is too narrow a view; effective advertising encompasses broader objectives of brand building and customer relationship management, rather than just immediate sales transactions.