In addition to deciding upon the content, style and tone of the advertising message, the media through which the message will be communicated to the target audience must also be selected, be it television, newspaper, magazine, radio or other.

In order to select the most appropriate media, consideration should be given to the advantages and disadvantages of each of the available types of media. In the table below we have identified commonly accepted advantages and disadvantages of each of the major media. This is followed by more detailed consideration of each of these media in later sections of the article.