These top classes of advertising are sometimes incorrectly termed ‘mail order’ advertising, because this is a contradiction in terms. Mail order is a form of distribution, but direct mail is an advertising medium. Some clarification occurs with new names, such as direct response and telemarketing. Significantly, the mail order exhibition was renamed Direct Marketing. Goods supplied direct, instead of through shops, are advertised in the press, by direct mail, on television, and on the web. However, these top classes are as follows.Persuasive: It is also known as ‘hard-sell’ advertising. This is most obvious kind which surrounds us in our daily lives, urging us to buy all manner of products and services. Without such sales-promoting advertising it is hard to imagine how modern society could survive, with its mass production and mass consumption. Scathing comments are made about the ‘ad-mass’, but its critics happen to enjoy the plentiful supply of goods which satisfy their economic needs, food, clothes and shelter. Countless pleasures and luxuries are also enjoyed simply because economics of scale can be exploited, thanks to advertising and other aids to distribution to national and international markets. This sort of advertising or hard-selling advertisement has to attract attention, command interest, create desire, inspire conviction, and provoke action provided it is to succeed in its goal.Informative: Not everything is bought right away. It may have to be thought carefully, and there may be quite a bit of window-shopping and budgeting before the final purchase is made. Or it may be one of those once in a lifetime buys, or a present for some lucky person some day in future. More leisurely and often more expensive purchases can result from a study of helpful and explanatory advertisements over a period of time. Central heating, a new car, kitchen cabinets, a refrigerator, or a sewing machine are typical products of this sort. Mostly, they are ones which are popularly known as consumer durable items. So, here the kind of advertising should be less dramatic and compelling, but nonetheless attractive, interesting and convincing. The pace of appeal is quieter; there is more copy to read, perhaps more pictures to look at, and the object of the ad may be to invite the reader to obtain more detailed information by applying for a brochure or arranging for a demonstration.Classified: While a great many classifieds are inserted by private individuals, others are placed by commercial firms as will be seen, for instance, in the vacancy columns of both national newspapers and magazines. By classified we mean not only that the advertisements are small and run-on but that they are grouped together under identifying headings, such as ‘House for sale’, ‘Situations Vacant’ and many more.Retail: With the exception of productive retailers like bakers, florists, hairdressers, most retailers are selling other people’s goods. Their advertising has four objectives. They include selling the stock, establishing the identity or a kind of ‘image’ advertising, identifying the location and attracting personal, telephone or mail order shoppers. Obviously, retail advertising has to work very hard, even harder than a persuasive advertisement.Industrial: Most industrial advertising offers raw materials, components and services to manufacturers and users who convert these technical things into finished products, which, in turn, are advertised to the end users or financial consumers. A house or an automobile, a computer or a central heating system is an assembly of items made by others. So, the advertisers are sometimes referred to as secondary suppliers. Their promotional activities are called Back-Selling as well. The advertiser has the problem that his product may be seldom or never known to the final customer for support.There are more classes of advertising also. They are, for example, institutional advertising, financial advertising, co-operative advertising, trade advertising, etc. All of them have different ways and objectives.