An apparatus and method are disclosed for providing an advertising system in which a buyer generates a profile containing a list of preferred purchases or vendors. At least some of the buyer's preferred profile entries are associated with a geographic area. A mobile network is used to connect the mobile buyers and the sellers. Both the buyers' profiles and the sellers' advertisements are uploaded to the network. The network matches buyers and sellers by providing to the buyers sales advertisements that match the criteria of the uploaded buyer's profiles but without sharing buyers' unique identifying information with the sellers. The buyer devices optionally include an ad server to filter and manage the buyer's receipt of advertisements. The sellers' offers and promotions also optionally include time-dependent information such that they expire upon the passage of a specified time period.