The main reason for the existence of an ad is to sell something. Now, there are several ways to go about this job. One is hard sell, another is soft sell, and yet there are recognition ads that are only intended to make people aware of the company or product

The hard sell ad comes right out with its intent and uses several hard-hitting devices to gain attention, inform, persuade and then ask, tell or command the reader or viewer to take action. That action might be to call an 800 number, log onto a web site or send in a coupon and outright buy the product or service. Another ploy might be to persuade the reader to go to a store and make a purchase or to simply ask for more information as is the case with many large ticket items. Asking for further information generates a "lead" which opens the door for a sales person or telephone marketer.

The soft sell ad is more indirect in its purpose. This sort of ad makes use of seemingly unrelated information that eventually allows the writer to sneak the product or service in more unobtrusively. Consider the V.W. ad where the announcer talks about arches in the foreground while someone drives up to and parks a new-style V.W. under an arch in the background. The ad sounds like it is explaining the history, value and strength of arches while it's really relating the V.W.'s design strength to that of an arch. Cute.

The recognition ad hopefully makes people aware of a person, place or thing. Nothing is outright sold by the ad, but its intent is to make people aware and comfortable with something. Often, these ads accomplish positioning by comparing one item to another. For example, if one company starts making a luxury car, they may want to compare or position their product with other luxury products, fine art or life styles. The management of the Grey Poupon Mustard Company has positioned itself as a luxury product by associating it with the people who drive luxury automobiles.