Classified advertising is a form of advertising which is particularly common in newspapers, the Internet and other periodicals,
e.g. free ads papers or Pennysavers.
Classified advertising differs from standard advertising or
business models in that it allows private individuals (not simply
companies or corporate entities) to solicit sales for products and
services.
Classified advertising is usually textually based and can consist
of as little as the type of item being sold and a telephone number
to call for more information. It can also have much more detail,
such as name to contact, address to contact or visit, a detailed
description of the product or products ("pants and sweaters, size
10" as opposed to "clothing", "red 1996 Pontiac Grand Prix" as
opposed to "automobile"). There are generally no pictures or other
graphics within the advertisement, although sometimes a logo may
be used. Classified advertising is called such because it is
generally grouped within the publication under headings
classifying the product or service being offered (headings such as
Accounting, Automobiles, Clothing, Farm Produce, For Sale, For
Rent, etc.) and is grouped entirely in a distinct section of the
periodical, which makes it distinct from display advertising,
which often contains graphics or other art work and which is more
typically distributed throughout a publication adjacent to
editorial content.
