Public relations (PR) involves managing information between an organization and the public to protect and maintain reputation, while advertising promotes goods and services to increase sales. The main difference is that advertising pays for space while PR seeks free publicity. With advertising, companies have creative control over paid ads, but PR has no control over if or how media will cover a story. PR provides a sense of credibility as a third party endorsement, while consumers view ads guardedly knowing the company pays for positive promotion that may not reflect reality.