Yearly growth in measured media advertising expenditures exceeded 5% for most of the 1980s, but it is expected to remain close to 1% for 1991. However, the current crisis in advertising can be overcome because it is largely due to erroneous perceptions. For example, advertising may often be reduced because profits are down, but the evidence suggests that reduced advertising spending hurts profitability in the long run. The short-range orientation that has led to reduced advertising and increased promotion is a key element in the crisis in advertising. Most damaging to advertising is the expansion of promotions to the trade and consumer, and recent studies using single-source data found that only 16% of trade promotions were financially successful. Because measuring the success of advertising is more difficult than assessing the short-term results of price promotions, advertising is at a disadvantage when marketing decisions are made. Therefore, it is important to reaffirm the evidence supporting advertising's effectiveness.