advertising is marketing is merchandising is selling
If you want to find strong distinctions among these things, I can't stop you. As the saying goes, you have a right to your insane opinion. However, I think the whole business of voluntary persuasion is really of a piece, and not split in the way so many of their practitioners seem to think. (I was going to say "voluntary persuasion for commercial gain" or something like that, but I think my argument is broad enough to stick with "voluntary persuasion.") Two of my favorite merchants who understand that the copy of an ad (or a product description, which is just an ad, except to nitwits) can be and should be irreverent, honest and engaging are woot.com and American Science & Surplus (check out their bargain basement). Whoever writes the copy for these places knows more about persuasion (at least about persuading *me*) than did the bulk of my professors when I got a degree in advertising at Texas.