Media buying refers to the practice of advertisers purchasing the actual form for their messages. It might be airspace on a television or radio network, room in a magazine or newspaper, or, more recently, banners on popular websites. The advertising industry was into advanced metrics before it was hip. The Don Drapers of the world have long been concerned with target audiences, key demographics, and ratings. Getting a message in front of not just many eyeballs, but the right eyeballs, is a precise (and lucrative) science. You don’t need algorithm-based analytics, however, to understand why an ad slot during the Super Bowl is the most coveted and expensive 30 seconds on television.