the information transmitted through advertising is indirect. It looks more specifically at
the quality signaling argument and at the coordination role of advertising.
Section 4.5
focuses on various characteristics of the technology through which advertising conveys
information to consumers, considering in turn advertising costs, targeting, and informa-
tion congestion. I take a wider perspective in
Section 4.6 by allowing advertising to have
some role other than the transmission of information. In doing so, I reconsider the wel-
fare implications of advertising while incorporating elements of the persuasive and com-
plementary views. I also relax the strict consumer rationality assumption and I consider an
important function of advertising, which