By ancient times I mean organized, progressive societies such as the Romans or Greeks. I presume there was advertising by use of posters for theatrical events or political events. What about for real estate or new luxuries, were they readily advertised to the masses? More specifically I am asking when formal types of advertising were used; ones that were specifically oriented towards a profit goal?
Absolutely! Among the best preserved sites of antiquity is Pompeii, due to the eruption of the nearby volcano Vesuvius in 79. The excavations at Pompeii are still ongoing. If you're ever in Italy I highly recommend visiting Pompeii or Herculaneum! (And if you can't go too far from Rome, then both Ostia and the Villa Hadriana are interesting alternatives.)
Graffiti was common in Pompeii. People put all sorts of stuff on the walls, from humorous rhymes to slurs. A lot of the graffiti in Pompeii consists of advertisements, often political. Outdated ads were covered in a layer of white paint, so that new ads could be placed on top of them. We can reasonably assume that Pompeii was ordinary in this regard, so ancient Romans across the empire would be accustomed to seeing ads.
This book lists examples of advertisements for rooms available to rent, among other stuff. And here is some more information about political graffiti in Pompeii.
Edit I just remembered this interesting artifact in the collection of the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities. Although the owl was probably discovered in Rome the inscription underneath it is in Greek. The text indicates that the owl was used as a sort of signboard in front of the shop of a soothsayer.