Advertising performs two important jobs. It informs consumers what products and services are available, and it tries to persuade them to make choices about what to buy. Advertising has been around ever since somebody had something to sell, but in the late 1800s, it became a part of everyday life. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, advertising is everywhere. From coffee (see entry under 1990s—The Way We Lived in volume 5) cups to the World Wide Web, from clothing to public garbage cans, advertising appears wherever there is a space to put a logo or a slogan.

Modern advertising began in the 1920s, the decade that saw the rise of the New York City advertising agencies on Madison Avenue. Mass production meant that more people could afford things like cars, radios, and refrigerators (see entry under 1910s—The Way We Lived in volume 1). Improved transport also meant...