People often get confuse between advertising and public relation. Some people think that both are some or less the same thing. In simplest word one can understand is that advertising is something where one says he/she is the best while PR is making others say that you are the best. PR is much more sophisticated, mature and demands more energy and strategy. A good PR agency will not only do their work but they also generate ideas to the advertising agency helping a company in building a brand.
An advertisement is nothing but paying for a column on a magazine, newspaper or buying a slot in radio or TV to showcase product or services and creating an impact on the consumer base to buy those. While in PR, mostly all the activities are non-paid. A PR agency makes sure that there is somebody else on the TV or Radio or any journalist on a column talking about your product or services which eventually gains the trust of the consumer.
In advertisement there are no filters, one says what one wants to say. He/she may over exaggerate about their products or service while representing that advertisement in front of the consumer base. But PR activities comes out very natural, one feels that whatever is been shown to the consumer base is authentic, tested and is bonafide. This creating a long lasting impact on the consumer and this is how one can win the trust of the consumer.
The one thing good about advertising is one is sure that it will appear on different mediums one has pitched in. While in PR one can only make Press Release, Pitch Note and other story ideas which no one is sure whether when they will be published.
At last, both have their pros and cons. We can say both are the sides of one coin and they go in ongoing cycle.