The popularity of the television series Mad Men has raised the public awareness of advertising firms and what may or may not happen behind the scenes. We all recognise advertising when we see it: it's those bits that surround the editorial content in papers and magazines, that interrupt TV programmes or pop up on the websites you like to browse. As a discipline it might be defined as follows: advertising is about creating a message about something (usually a product or service) and then getting it out to people in the hope that they will react in a particular way - which in all likelihood means "buying it". Or put another way, it's paid persuasive communication that uses the mass media to connect an identified sponsor - the person or company that pays for the ad - with its target audience. This book examines the different elements of those definitions and shows readers - through discussion of the ten key principles underlying all great advertising - how to create dynamic, well-targeted adverts of their own. Engagingly written by journalist and critic Robert Shore, this book provides the basic principles behind creating a successful advertisement. With clear explanations, illustrations and checklists for each chapter, the reader is guided through what goes into making an advertisement work.